Person-to-Person World Cup Ticket Exchanges Banned by Court
April 20, 2006
Supporters who attempt to sell their personalized World Cup tickets without going through the official DFB or FIFA channels will find their transactions vetoed after a Frankfurt regional court ruled in favor of the German soccer body.
The case came to light after soccer fan Björn Kracht bought two World Cup tickets online in September for 880 euros ($1,087), eight times their original price. The tickets contained the personal information of the original owner and the DFB refused at the time to transfer the tickets to the name of the new purchaser, prompting the original ticket holder to file a lawsuit against the federation.
The court ruled in favor of the DFB, upholding its right to reject such transfers on the basis that the original ticket holder could have returned the tickets if they were not wanted.
Only the person named on each ticket will be allowed access to the stadiums when the month-long World Cup kicks off on June 9, for security reasons.
Resales are now conducted via an official website, something that was not available at the time of the disputed transaction discussed in Frankfurt. On the website, the German Organizing Committee (OK) and FIFA have set out seven possibilities for transfer:
- Transfer within the family and partnerships
- Illness of ticket holder / visitor
- Ticket holder or visitor get no visa to travel to Germany
- Ticket holder or visitor is prohibited from traveling
- Force majeure (e.g. acts of war, earthquake, terrorism, political upheavals, epidemics, natural catastrophes)
- Death of ticket holder or visitor or case of death within the family of ticket holder / visitor
- Hardship case
Even if the reason for the ticket exchange fits any of these seven points, further documentation may still be required.
Official channels the only acceptable way to exchange
The OK has made it clear that tickets may only be returned or transferred to another person through the official channels on the portal and may not be exchanged directly between two customers online without OK consent. Any person transferring a ticket will have to pay a 10 euro fee.
Thursday’s court ruling will reinforce that DFB’s and OK’s stance that person-to-person transactions will not be tolerated.