AFL urges fans to avoid making Finals series ticket purchases through Viagogo
The AFL has reportedly cautioned fans to steer clear of resale site Viagogo when looking to buy finals tickets.
With the Australian Competition and Consumer Commissions (ACCC) recently announcing that it is taking Viagogo to Federal Court over alleged misleading representations and its booking fees, the AFL has advised its fans to only purchase tickets through official seller Ticketek.
The AFL released the warning following complaints of an arduous buying experience for fans attempting to secure tickets on Ticketek for Friday night’s qualifying final between Geelong and Richmond at the MCG.
Fans became further exasperated when seeing Ticketmaster’s resale site charging tickets for up to $343, with the cheapest tickets being sold for $136.85.
According to Melbourne newspaper The Age, AFL Fans Association spokesman Gerry Eeman described the Viagogo and Ticketmaster Resale websites as allowing “legalised scalping” that “fleeces” fans.
Eeman stated “they are a tool to enable price gouging.
“There is nothing stopping the AFL from contacting the government and working with them on a fix.
“You can’t scalp AFL Grand Final tickets because of legislation so what’s stopping the AFL from pushing government to make it the same for all tickets?”
With tickets going on sale last week, many would-be buyers struggled to secure a seat via the Ticketek website.
Amid fan anger, Ticketek Managing Director Cameron Hoy responded, advising “(the) sale for the AFL Finals Series Week One has seen record demand and record sales for the Ticketek platform.
“We covered all four matches for AFL Club members and the General Public at the MCG, SCG and Adelaide Oval and transacted over 85,000 tickets in the first hour alone.
“The Ticketek platform performed to our high expectations and provided continuous online transactions for many thousands of footy fans. As with every major event onsale Ticketek deploys a virtual queue to ensure fair access to tickets.
“While we understand this can cause frustration and can lead people venting on social media, the experience today for the overwhelming majority of fans has been excellent and we note that many posted positive comments on social media.”
Earlier this year, the AFL pledged to open up more tickets to competing club members for this year's Grand Final.
Image: The MCG on Grand Final day.
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