- Manchester United and Tottenham will contest the final in Bilbao next week
- Tickets are being sold for thousands of pounds on a site part-owned by Boehly
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Europa League final tickets are being sold for up to £23,000 via a company that Chelsea chief Todd Boehly part owns.
The final of Europe’s second-tier competition has drawn major attention because two English teams will be contesting it – Manchester United and Tottenham – in a bid to qualify for a better competition next season.
It has also generated extra interest because the winner of the game will earn a spot in next season’s Champions League – despite the two sides currently sitting 16th and 17th in the Premier League respectively.
The game will take place in Bilbao on May 21, in the Estadio de San Mames – a ground that holds just over 53,000 people – with United and Spurs fans being allocated around 15,000 tickets each.
That means there will be around 23,000 tickets handed out to non-supporters, with fans scrambling for any other way to get to the game and watch their side potentially lift a trophy.
And Vivid Seats, a company which Boehly is involved with, is selling ‘prime seats’ on the halfway line for £22,738, according to Kieran Maguire.
A company part-owned by Todd Boehly has received backlash after it put Europa League final tickets on sale for £23,000
The game, contested between Manchester United and Tottenham, will be played in Bilbao
Vivid Seats, which is 41 per cent owned by Boehly, has listed a number of tickets on its website
Tickets for the public are priced at £55 and £204, while fans can also cough up thousands to guarantee their spot at the game.
Other options on Vivid Seats include tickets priced at £17,054 in Category One, while other tickets are priced at around £4,000 each.
Boely, according to IQ, owns 41 per cent of the ticket site, which is for resales, through his company Eldridge Industries. He is a director and investor, which the Chelsea Supporters Trust recently described as a ‘conflict of interest’.
Fans were left frustrated in the replies, with one writing: ‘Everything wrong with top level football right there.’
Another posted: ‘Why is this allowed. Absolute disgrace,’ while a third added: ‘Disgusting.’
In March, the Supporters Trust wrote to the Premier League to express their concerns around an ‘inappropriate’ connection.
The letter included: ‘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.
Boehly was criticised for a suggested ‘conflict of interest’ by the Chelsea Supporters Trust
Other fans have slammed the decision taken by the company to sell tickets for a high value
‘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.’
Chelsea have been contacted by Mail Sport for comment.
