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£1,900 mark-up on Cup Final tickets
By Jonathan Prynn, Evening Standard 02.05.07
The showdown between Chelsea and Manchester United is seen as a particularly 'hot ticket'
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Tickets for the first FA Cup Final at the new Wembley are being offered at vast mark-ups.
Online agencies and touts have already forced the price of the top ticket, real value £95, up to £2,000.
The showdown between Chelsea and Manchester United is seen as a particularly "hot ticket" because of their battle for the Premiership this season, as well as it being the stadium's first major fixture.
Fans of both clubs - two of the bestsupported teams in England - are angry because each has only been allocated 25,000 tickets.
That leaves 40,000 to be distributed to corporate sponsors and football associations across the country. Many of these are expected to end up in the hands of touts.
Selling football tickets on the internet is, unlike those for music concerts, a criminal offence. The football authorities have been cracking down on tout websites but huge demand means the practice is highly profitable.
Mark Longden, chairman of the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association, called on the Football Association to trace the sources of touts' tickets and ban them from receiving cup final tickets again.
An FA spokesman said: "We are speaking to the police to see what action they plan to take."
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Reader views (4)
Of course it is about market forces and the free market, they supply a set amount of tickets and they are basically sold to whoever is prepared to pay the most money. How is that dishonest taking the tickets. That is how the free market works. I don't like it but that is the way it is and I don't see why they should have a special rule against this for football, what makes that so special.
- Paul Urban, London, UK
Is everyone else happy? Most people I know have the same attitude towards people who tout gig tickets as well.
It's not about market forces. It's about people dishonestly taking tickets out of general circulation in order to tout.
- Goonergirl, London, UK
I really don't understand this bad attitude towards touts. Surely it is a case of supply and demand. Everyone seems happy for the this rule to work in any other area of business and the world in general, but not the "sacred game of football".
- Paul Urban, London, UK
Those who tout, those who supply touts, and those who buy from touts should face the full wrath of the law. It is a despicable practice which prevents real supporters from getting tickets which they deserve. There is nothing more frustrating than following your team through thick and thin and then discovering that the only way you can get hold of a ticket is by paying thousands to a scumbag tout.
Having said that, perhaps if the FA actually made more tickets available via the clubs involved, instead of farming 40,000 out to 'corporate partners' then supporters wouldn't have to resort to going to touts.
- Goonergirl, London, UK
