EUROPA LEAGUE final tickets are being flogged for £23,000 on Vivid Seats – a company part-owned by Chelsea’s Todd Boehly.
Manchester United and Tottenham are preparing to do battle in the Bilbao showpiece on May 21.
The San Mames Stadium has a capacity of just over 53,000.
Both United and Spurs have been allocated 15,000 seats each, with the most affordable tickets starting at £34 thanks to Uefa’s ‘Fans First’ scheme.
Tickets for the general public are split into three categories, with the face value prices between £55 and £204.
But tickets currently on sale on Vivid Seats – part-owned by Boehly – are available for eye-watering sums a week before kickoff.
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‘Prime seats’ situated along the halfway line are listed on the site for £22,738 each, per The Price of Football.
Other options are available, with some tickets on sale in Category 1 for up to £17,054.
Furious fans were quick to slam the prices, with one writing on X: “Everything wrong with top level football right there.”
Another said: “Unfortunately this is where the tourist league is going. Franchise soccer UK next.”
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While a third fumed: “Why is this allowed. Absolute disgrace.”
And a fourth commented: “Shocked but not surprised.”
Chelsea declined to comment.
American businessman Boehly became a minority owner at Chelsea in May 2022.
The 51-year-old is a director and investor in Vivid Seats, a role recently described as a “conflict of interest” by the Chelsea Supporters Trust.
Vivid Seats, which has its base in Chicago, is legally allowed to operate overseas but is prohibited for use by UK users.
Boehly’s Eldridge Industries owns 41 percent of the ticket resale site, according to IQ.
In an open letter penned in March, the CST wrote to the Premier League and asked them to “act and investigate” in an effort to clamp down on ticket touting at Chelsea games.
The letter read: “Many CST members are clearly infuriated by this connection and have written to us.
“As a director of Chelsea FC and part-owner, Mr Boehly’s connection with Vivid Seats is totally inappropriate and significantly undermines the efforts of Chelsea FC, the Premier League, and the Metropolitan Police to combat ticket touting.
“Mr Boehly has been contacted directly by the CST and has been offered multiple opportunities to both publicly and privately address supporters’ concerns.
“Neither Mr Boehly nor his representatives have, however, acted on these requests, and thousands of tickets remain for sale on the Vivid Seats website.”
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A Uefa spokesperson told SunSport: “Uefa strongly urges fans not to purchase tickets on the secondary market.
“Ticket sales to the general public and fans of the teams who have reached the finals are carried out exclusively by Uefa.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
