Todd Boehly catches ire of Chelsea fans due to ‘breach of trust’ over his ticket resale website with Vivid seats.
Todd Boehly has been accused of a “breach of trust” and a potential conflict of interest over his co-ownership of a website selling tickets to the club’s games.
Boehly is a director and investor in Vivid Seats, an American website that enables people outside of the UK to purchase and sell concert and athletic event tickets, frequently at exorbitant markups. Since it is against the law in the UK to resale football tickets in this manner, British fans are unable to utilise the website or similar ones. Vivid Seats is listed by the Premier League as a “unauthorised ticket website.”
Chelsea supporters have been talking a lot about the problem, with many on social media lamenting that it is now difficult for them to get tickets to both home and away games. The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust conducted a study of its members regarding ticket touting because the fan community was already worried about it.
According to the CST, only 17% of fans trusted the team to stop touting, and many were upset by Vivid Seats’ relationship with Boehly, who joined Chelsea as chairman and co-owner in 2022. In addition to a service charge, Vivid Seats charges a 10% commission. In the past, Chelsea has criticised ticket buyers who benefit from the sale of their seats.
The CST said: “Vivid Seats currently lists hundreds of Chelsea FC general admission tickets at significantly inflated prices. As these tickets are not sold by the Chelsea FC website, they are considered by the club to be ‘illegal sales’.
“Within the recent CST ticket touting survey, many CST members suggested that Mr Boehly’s connection with Vivid Seats is a ‘breach of trust’ and could be a conflict of interest. These recent reports are very disappointing, and it is within Mr Boehly’s best interests to investigate these issues and address supporters’ concerns. We do not believe it is appropriate for any Chelsea tickets or wider Premier League tickets to be listed on the Vivid Seats website.”