FIFA faces legal action from at least three US states over claims it has pushed up World Cup ticket prices by limiting supplies and switching categories.
Lawyers in New York, New Jersey and California want answers, along with Congress.
A Sun probe found some US venues have sold less than half their seats — just days before the big kick-off for Harry Kane and his Three Lions.
The US Congress has also raised concerns about “potentially deceptive practices”, including restricting ticket supply in order to inflate prices.
England supporters welcomed the investigation, which is being seen as a test case for all 16 host cities facing identical concerns.
Attorneys general for New York and New Jersey have formally subpoenaed Fifa officials to demand answers over rocketing prices and the “fake scarcity” of tickets.
California’s attorney general has also written to Fifa questioning the legality of World Cup ticketing maps, which have been branded misleading.
New York consumer and worker protection commissioner Samuel A A Levine warned that Fifa’s conduct — if proven — would be “in violation of the city’s consumer protection law”.
Many England fans have so far shunned the biggest-ever World Cup, deterred by sky-high match ticket prices on top of soaring travel and hotel costs.
Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions’ first group match at the 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium at Arlington near Dallas still has tickets available in most blocks — but the cheapest is £524.
The best Category One seats for the June 17 clash against Croatia currently cost £1,431.
The match is one of nine games being staged at the glitzy venue.
But civic leaders were shocked to learn this week that more than 350,000 tickets are still unsold.
Arlington’s deputy city manager Jennifer Wichmann told a council meeting: “Approximately 700,000 tickets are available for matches in AT&T Stadium.
“Between 35 per cent and 50 cent of those have been sold to date.”
Experts predict Fifa will slash prices in the week before kick-off, as they did at the Club World Cup last year, when seats were eventually given away.
A ticket probe was announced into the 82,500-seat MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which will host games including England’s June 27 group match against Panama, and the final on July 19.
Investigations were announced jointly on Wednesday by New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, and her New Jersey counterpart Jennifer Davenport.
Their concerns centre on fans’ claims they were misled about the location of the seats – and Fifa’s own statements pushed up prices.
Ms James said: “No one should be manipulated into paying sky-high prices for seats, and fans should be able to trust the tickets they purchase will be the ones they receive.”
Ms Davenport also raised the issue of “fake scarcity” in ticketing, where blocks are excluded from sale to drive up prices.
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill added: “No one should be allowed to exploit New Jersey fans or those coming to our state.”
California attorney general Rob Bonta has also written to Fifa’s legal department to assess whether its law “may have been violated” during the ticket sales process at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.
He said he was “particularly concerned about reports that Fifa sold tickets by categories based on seating zones on stadium maps then changed those seat categorisations”.
Colour-coded maps are reported to have been altered to move seats into more expensive categories during different sales phases.
Fifa later claimed that the maps were for “guidance” only.
The game’s ruling body supremo Gianni Infantino has also been stung by a letter demanding explanations from US Congress.
Energy and Commerce committee member Frank Pallone and Homeland Security taskforce member Nellie Pou raised concerns including “Dynamic Pricing Rip-Offs”.
The letter alleges “deception” and adds: “Fifa also appears to be restricting ticket supply to shape demand. Time is running short.
“These patterns of questionable ticket pricing raise serious questions about fairness, transparency, and potentially deceptive practices in ticket sales.”
The attorney general’s office in Washington state — where games will be played in Seattle — also confirmed complaints had been received about suspect ticket sales.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/sport/16425270/world-cup-chaos-fifa-legal-action-ticket-price-hikes/
