The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust has written to Premier League chief Richard Masters calling for an investigation into the connections of the club’s co-owner Todd Boehly with ticket exchange and resale company Vivid Seats.
American Boehly owns just under 37 per cent of Chelsea, with the Clearlake Capital consortium fronted by Behdad Eghbali owning most of the rest.
Boehly – who was essentially the face of the 2022 takeover of Chelsea after former owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the British Government – has served as a director on the board of Vivid Seats since 2021.
“Chelsea Supporters’ Trust members do not have faith in #ChelseaFC to combat ticket touting.”
The @ChelseaSTrust provides an update on ticket touting & Vivid Seats. pic.twitter.com/qZyHfdvnhn
— Chelsea Supporters’ Trust⭐️⭐️ (@ChelseaSTrust) February 6, 2025
The American website offers users outside of the UK the opportunity to sell and buy tickets to sporting events and concerts, often at more than face value.
Vivid Seats is on the Premier League’s “unauthorised ticket websites” list, where fans are urged to “exercise extreme caution” when dealing with such companies.
Tickets listed on the Vivid Seats website for Chelsea’s final home Premier League match of the season on May 18 range from £442 for general admission to more than £3,000 for hospitality in the Harris Suite at Stamford Bridge.
In the open letter to Masters, the CST said it had “received a significant amount of correspondence from concerned members” as well as the wider Chelsea fanbase over the reports of Boehly’s connection with Vivid Seats.
A CST spokesperson added: “Vivid Seats continues to list Premier League tickets for above face value at significantly inflated rates and our members have continued to indicate that Mr Boehly’s connection with Vivid Seats is a breach of trust and a clear conflict of interest.
“Not only does this undermine the efforts of Chelsea FC, the Premier League, and the Metropolitan Police to combat ticket touting, but Vivid Seats contravenes the Chelsea FC ticketing policy, and is explicitly named by the Premier League as a known unauthorised ticket website.
“We believe that now is the time for the Premier League to act swiftly and ensure that a major shareowner of a Premier League club ceases facilitating the sale of tickets for significantly above face value.”
FSA writes to PL with 3 main requests:
1. For clubs to freeze prices ahead of 2025/26;2. To protect concessions and review the PL's ticket rulebook;3. To back proper dialogue between clubs and fan reps on ticketing.#StopExploitingLoyalty
🔗 https://t.co/IQqtwuDcDJ pic.twitter.com/3eYCyFpL70
— The FSA (@WeAreTheFSA) February 25, 2025
The Football Supporters’ Association backed the CST’s calls for the issue to be addressed.
“It is crystal clear that the Premier League needs to take action,” an FSA spokesperson said.
“Clubs, supporters’ groups, the police and the Premier League itself has worked hard in recent years to combat ticket touting – there is no excuse for a club owner to be involved in such activity.”
Chelsea declined to comment when contacted by the PA news agency on Wednesday. The Premier League has also been contacted for comment.
Thank you for your support in north London this afternoon. See you back at the Bridge at the start of April. 💙#CFC | #ARSCHE pic.twitter.com/b0AyMpuUoT
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 16, 2025
Chelsea are fourth in the Premier League under head coach Enzo Maresca and are well placed to secure a return to the Champions League for the first time since 2023.
Despite having scored 53 goals in the league – the joint-third highest total – supporters have voiced frustration during recent home games with a lack of creativity displayed by the team.
There have also been protests by some Chelsea fans over fears of an impasse on making key decisions at the club under the current ownership structure.
