Clearlake-linked ticket website faces Premier League scrutiny
A ticketing company linked to Chelsea’s majority owner Clearlake Capital advertised Premier League tickets to UK customers at inflated prices, according to The Times, raising questions about oversight and the club’s stance on unauthorised resale.
A company linked to Chelsea investor Clearlake Capital offered Premier League tickets to UK customers at several times their face value, according to an investigation by The Times.The US-based website events365.com reportedly advertised fixtures involving 19 Premier League clubs, excluding Chelsea, with journalists purchasing a ticket for almost four times its original price towards the end of last season.The website belongs to Victory Live, a US ticketing business whose directors include Chelsea chairman Behdad Eghbali and fellow club director James Pade.The Times reported that customers received instructions to enter stadiums without seeking help from stewards and to say their tickets had come from a friend if questioned.Access to Premier League tickets through the website has subsequently been blocked, according to the investigation.The reported position from the ownership group is that Eghbali, Pade and other directors did not know the tickets were being advertised to UK customers.The findings concern a separate business connected to Clearlake rather than Chelsea selling its own match tickets, but the overlapping directorships place the issue close to the club’s leadership.Chelsea has warned supporters against purchasing through unauthorised resale platforms, with its ticketing policy stating that tickets become invalid when bought through unapproved channels or above face value.The investigation therefore puts the activities of a business within its owners’ investment portfolio alongside restrictions the club applies to supporters buying tickets.The exclusion of Chelsea fixtures from the listings does not remove that tension, with tickets involving almost every other Premier League club reportedly available through the platform.Victory Live’s activities also bring attention to the oversight of ticket distribution across international markets, where websites based outside Britain can offer access to English football to UK customers.The investigation comes as the proposed Sporting Events Bill progresses through Parliament, with measures intended to close the loophole allowing overseas-registered businesses to sell football tickets to customers in the UK.That proposal would extend the reach of restrictions on unauthorised football ticket sales, addressing an area in which domestic ticketing controls and international resale businesses can intersect.The reported removal of Premier League listings stops further access through the website, but leaves questions about how the offers became available to UK buyers and what checks were in place.The Times’ findings do not establish that Chelsea’s directors knew about the sales, with the ownership group’s stated position being that they were unaware of the activity.