Chelsea’s turbulent season has taken another controversial turn—this time off the pitch. Club owner Todd Boehly has been linked to an unauthorized ticket resale operation, raising serious concerns over the integrity of Chelsea’s stance on touting.
According to The Telegraph, Boehly is both an investor and a director at Vivid Seats, a US-based ticket resale platform that has allegedly been selling Premier League tickets—including Blues’ matches—to foreign tourists at highly inflated prices. This revelation has sparked outrage among fans, especially given Chelsea’s strict anti-touting policies.
Under UK law, the resale of soccer tickets has been illegal since the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, leading to strict regulations to prevent price gouging and fraud. However, reports indicate that Vivid Seats has been allowing foreign users to resell tickets for Chelsea and other Premier League matches—sometimes at prices exceeding £17,000.
The platform operates by charging a 10% commission on resales, in addition to service fees that range from 20% to 40% of the ticket’s original price. Although Vivid Seats mentions on its website that events must occur in the US, Premier League tickets are still readily available for purchase, showing a discrepancy between what is stated and what is offered.
For instance, one of the most shocking examples is Liverpool’s final home game against Crystal Palace, where ticket prices can range from £1,622 to £17,672, highlighting the significant markup and premium costs associated with high-demand events.
Chelsea’s anti-touting stance contradicted
This revelation directly contradicts Chelsea’s official position on ticket reselling. The club has repeatedly condemned touting, promising severe penalties for offenders, including revoking season tickets and membership rights.
A statement from Chelsea’s official website last year read: “Chelsea FC is committed to tackling ticket touting, for both home and away matches. We identify individuals who fraudulently harvest tickets/memberships to sell at vastly inflated prices, investigate both online and offline illegal ticket sales, and use a range of tactics and enforcement measures that help to combat ticket touting.”
However, with Boehly’s financial involvement in a company accused of profiting from this very practice, fans are now calling his leadership into question.
Chelsea fans react with outrage
Chelsea supporters have expressed their frustration over the growing ticketing crisis at the club, with some calling Boehly’s alleged involvement‘“hypocritical at best and downright dishonest at worst‘.
One fan told The Telegraph: “The fact that our owner could be benefiting personally at the expense of loyal supporters is disgraceful. Touting is a huge issue at Chelsea at the moment, and it’s getting worse. There are fewer and fewer tickets available for supporters on a general admission, match-by-match basis.”
With pressure mounting, Vivid Seats released a statement in an attempt to distance itself from any wrongdoing, claiming: “As a global business, we are always respectful and cognisant of local regulatory policies and procedures in any market to ensure we are compliant. Our policy restricts the sale of EPL tickets from UK sellers. We can confirm that we do not have any UK sellers listing EPL inventory on our marketplace.”
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