UNITED WILL BAN YOU FOR TOUTING

Last updated : 18 August 2006 By Editor

From the Guardian:

Football supporters are crying foul over an online scheme launching today that enables Premiership club season ticket holders to resell unwanted match tickets to fellow fans. Supporters claim the 25% premium charged for the service is "disgusting" and "legalised touting".

The company, Viagogo, has secured deals with Manchester United and Chelsea and wants to sign up other Premiership sides. It is the brainchild of Eric Baker, who started a similar business called StubHub in America. The company has financial backing from Lastminute co-founder Brent Hoberman and venture capital group Index Ventures, an early investor in online success stories Skype and Betfair.

A spokesman for Manchester United Supporters Trust said: "There is an unwritten rule among our fans: you only sell on a ticket to another Red at face value, otherwise you're considered a tout and frowned upon."

Viagogo pointed out that the unauthorised reselling of tickets, although widespread, is illegal. "We are bringing efficiency and transparency to what has traditionally been a murky marketplace," a spokesman said.

Through Viagogo, Manchester United and Chelsea season ticket holders will be able to sell legally unwanted match tickets to One United and True Blue club members, all of whom must be registered. This avoids breaching anti-hooligan laws.

Manchester United and Chelsea will benefit from the deal as Viagogo has signed up as a sponsor to both clubs, promising an undisclosed six-figure sum each year.

Supporters' groups said they had long been calling for clubs to offer regulated reselling services, but believe they should be free. David Johnstone, editor of fanzine CFCUK, said: "If you walk down the Fulham Road on a Saturday Chelsea have been bending over backwards to help police crack down on touting. Now they're at it themselves."

Mr Baker defended the 25% premium charged. "There are a lot of technical developments and ongoing costs which have to be covered. It's a service that really needs to be provided through an outsourced venture.

*Meanwhile, it's completely untrue that it's illegal to sell on football tickets. The law only applies to sale within a certain radius of the ground, on a matchday, in a public space. Therefore you can save yourself a load of money by signing up to the RI Sanctuary where you can legally swap tickets for free with fellow United fans.