German injunction intensifies pressure on FIFA over World Cup ticket sales
A German court has ordered FIFA to increase transparency around its World Cup resale marketplace, adding legal pressure to a ticketing model already criticised over high prices and consumer protections.
FIFA has been hit with a preliminary injunction in Germany requiring greater transparency around commercial sellers using its official World Cup ticket resale marketplace.The Frankfurt regional court ordered FIFA to stop facilitating sales without providing buyers with the identity and address of commercial sellers before purchases are completed.A Ticombo spokesperson said: “This historic injunction is an important legal and public-interest step for football fans.“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.”The case was brought by German resale platform Ticombo, which accused FIFA of allowing commercial operators to sell ticket allocations at heavily inflated prices without disclosing their status to consumers.Ticombo also alleged that FIFA’s ticketing platforms used manipulative sales techniques, including changing prices during the purchasing process and placing buyers under strict countdowns.Other complaints included automatically selecting the most expensive available seats and failing to display individual ticket prices clearly before consumers made their selections.The injunction applies only in Germany and is unlikely to affect the remaining matches at the 2026 World Cup.FIFA did not appear at the Frankfurt hearing, while Ticombo is now considering further legal action in Switzerland, where the governing body is based.The ruling adds to scrutiny of FIFA’s World Cup ticketing model, which has included dynamic pricing and an official resale marketplace without limits on asking prices.FIFA charges a 15% fee to both buyers and sellers on resale transactions, allowing the governing body to generate additional income when tickets change hands.Some tickets for the World Cup final have appeared on the official resale platform at prices above US$2m.New York 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.”Authorities in New York and New Jersey have separately investigated complaints about ticket sales for matches at MetLife Stadium, including allegations that buyers were misled about seat locations.Ticombo acknowledged that the German ruling came too late to reshape FIFA’s approach to the current tournament but said it would continue pressing for changes before the 2030 World Cup.