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The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust has written to the Premier League chief executive, Richard Masters, calling for an investigation into the connections of the club’s co-owner Todd Boehly with the ticket exchange and resale company Vivid Seats.
Boehly is a director and investor in Vivid Seats, an American site that allows users outside the United Kingdom to buy and sell tickets to concerts and sporting events, often at huge mark-ups. British fans cannot use the site or others like it because it is illegal to resell football tickets in this way in the UK. The Premier League lists Vivid Seats as an “unauthorised ticket website”.
The issue has been a topic of much discussion among Chelsea fans, with many on social media complaining it has become impossible for members to buy tickets to home and away games. There were already concerns within the fanbase about ticket touting, leading the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust (CST) to conduct a survey of its members about the issue. The CST found that only 17% of supporters had confidence in the club to tackle touting and anger was expressed at Vivid Seats’ connection with Boehly, who became Chelsea’s co-owner and chairman in 2022. Vivid Seats charges 10% commission, plus a service fee. Chelsea have previously denounced ticket holders who sell on their seats for profit.
In the open letter to Masters, the CST said it had “received a significant amount of correspondence from concerned members” as well as the wider Chelsea fanbase over the reports of Boehly’s connection with Vivid Seats. A CST spokesperson said: “Vivid Seats continues to list Premier League tickets for above face value at significantly inflated rates and our members have continued to indicate that Mr Boehly’s connection with Vivid Seats is a breach of trust and a clear conflict of interest.
“Not only does this undermine the efforts of Chelsea FC, the Premier League, and the Metropolitan Police to combat ticket touting, but Vivid Seats contravenes the Chelsea FC ticketing policy, and is explicitly named by the Premier League as a known unauthorised ticket website.
“We believe that now is the time for the Premier League to act swiftly and ensure that a major shareowner of a Premier League club ceases facilitating the sale of tickets for significantly above face value.”
The Football Supporters’ Association backed the CST’s calls for the issue to be addressed. An FSA spokesperson said: “It is crystal clear that the Premier League needs to take action. Clubs, supporters’ groups, the police and the Premier League itself has worked hard in recent years to combat ticket touting – there is no excuse for a club owner to be involved in such activity.”
Tickets listed on the Vivid Seats website for Chelsea’s final home Premier League match of the season on 18 May, against Manchester United, range from £442 for general admission to more than £3,000 for hospitality in the Harris Suite at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea declined to comment when contacted by the Press Association. The Premier League has also been contacted by PA for comment.
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