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Fifa has been hit with an injunction by a German court ordering it to stop “manipulative processes” in the sale of World Cup tickets. The Frankfurt regional court has granted a request for a preliminary injunction from Ticombo, an online ticket resale site based in Germany, which has instructed Fifa to be more transparent regarding its secondary ticketing sales by disclosing the identity and address of any commercial sellers.
The court has ordered Fifa “to cease facilitating ticket sales without informing buyers of the seller’s identity and address [specifically for sellers acting in a commercial capacity] in a timely manner prior to the buyer completing their purchase”.
The injunction applies only in Germany and is unlikely to have any effect on Fifa’s operations for the tournament. Fifa did not appear before the court in Frankfurt, with Ticombo now seeking to take its case to Switzerland, which will take some time.
Fifa has made millions from their official secondary ticketing market at this World Cup as, unlike in other countries, such as the UK, reselling tickets at a profit is legal in the United States. With huge demand for tickets, prices on the secondary market have risen to tens of thousands of pounds, with Fifa cashing in by charging 15% commission from the seller and buyer, being financially rewarded three times from the sale of one ticket.
In addition to the high prices, there have been repeated complaints about a lack of transparency from Fifa, particularly regarding who is selling the tickets and the location of seats in stadiums. In May, the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey launched their own investigation into Fifa’s sale of tickets at the MetLife Stadium, which will stage Sunday’s final, after receiving complaints from fans that they had been misled over the location of their seats.
New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, said: “No one should be manipulated into paying sky-high prices for seats and fans should be able to trust that the tickets they purchase will be the ones they receive.”
Ticombo accepts the injunction has come too late to make any difference at this World Cup, but wants to keep pressure on Fifa to alter its practices before the next tournament in 2030, the majority of which will take place in Spain and Portugal.
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In its submission to the Frankfurt regional court, Ticombo accused Fifa of “systematically concealing the identity and any possible trader status of its sellers to allow commercial entities to operate as undisclosed traders selling ticket allocations at heavily inflated prices”.
Ticombo also claims Fifa uses “manipulative design features” on its last-minute sales platform, including:
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Bait-and-switch pricing, where prices initially appear significantly lower than those shown once consumers enter the purchase process, with prices automatically rising steeply at checkout.
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Imposing aggressive deadlines, with buyers given a strict, non-resettable six-minute countdown, which locks them out of the purchase if it is not completed in time.
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Manipulative defaults, such as using a “book the best seat” function, to remove consumer choice by automatically selecting the most expensive seat available.
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Concealed pricing, where individual ticket prices are not clearly shown to consumers until after selection had been made.
“This historic injunction is an important legal and public-interest step for football fans,” a spokesperson for Ticombo said. “ We initiated this legal action to establish that transparency, fairness, and consumer rights must remain central standards in the ticketing industry, including for the world’s largest sporting events.”
Fifa has been approached for comment.
