Premier League Officials Reach Out to Chelsea Amid Growing Todd Boehly Worries
The Premier League has reached out to Chelsea requesting an explanation regarding chairman Todd Boehly's connection to an "unlicensed ticket reseller".
BBC Sport reports that the Premier League has "sent correspondence" to Chelsea seeking to comprehend the club's association with ticket resale platforms, considering that Boehly serves as a director and part-owner of Vivid.
Vivid operates as a ticket resale platform that lacks Premier League authorization and is prohibited from functioning within the United Kingdom. Unlicensed third-party reselling and street-level ticket hawking are against the law. However, Vivid is allowed to conduct business internationally, and individual Chelsea game tickets that have surfaced on their platform have been priced at up to £20,000 ($26,876).
This creates a potentially uncomfortable situation for Chelsea, who have maintained a strong position against ticket hawking and unauthorized reselling in recent years.
The club's official website contains extensive information for fans, cautioning them against buying tickets from unlicensed sources.
"We want to emphasize to supporters that ticket hawking (scalping) is prohibited by law in the UK and fans should exclusively buy tickets from authorized vendors," the club states, specifically warning that supporters could be refused admission to Stamford Bridge if found with unlicensed tickets.
"When match tickets are offered online through third-party resellers or are being sold by individuals outside the stadium, according to England & Wales legislation—The Criminal Justice & Public Order Act 1994—it is against the law to sell, or attempt to sell, tickets to Chelsea Football Club matches without club authorization," the information elaborates.
"Similar to many Premier League clubs, there are complex criminal networks targeting Chelsea, generating enormous profits through secondary ticketing platforms. Numerous websites that promote and sell tickets online operate beyond UK legal jurisdiction.
"This means that while we flag these sites when we discover Chelsea tickets listed on them, there is minimal action we can take to close down these sites, or assist supporters who are refused stadium entry because they purchased a resold or fake ticket from these websites.
"Purchasing tickets from unofficial sources carries a significant risk of paying extremely inflated costs, receiving fake or duplicate tickets, and ultimately being refused match access."