World Cup: FIFA ‘potentially liable’ in NY, NJ ticket probe, law professor says | OneFootball

Reuters (May 28) – The attorneys general of New York and New Jersey on Wednesday (May 27) said they had subpoenaed FIFA over the soccer governing body’s ticketing practices after media reports raised concerns about fans’ seat locations for the upcoming World Cup.

New York Attorney General Letitia James and New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in a press release they are specifically requesting details about ticketing practices for the eight World Cup matches being played in New Jersey, including the July 19 final.

Jodi Balsam, a professor of clinical law at Brooklyn Law School, said the subpoenas mean the attorneys general are seeking information and that FIFA has not been charged with any illegal conduct.

“All they’re doing is asking for information,” Balsam said. “But what they’re looking to find out now is if there’s a basis to bring those charges.”

The two officials also said some fans have reported that they did not receive the tickets in the category they paid for. According to the press release, some fans who selected and paid for Category 1 tickets, for seats in the areas closest to the field, were assigned seats farther back in Category 2 areas.

“The allegations are fans were misled about seat locations and assigned less desirable seats than those they paid for,” Balsam said. “It’s a breach of trust and can result in a variety of penalties for the offenders.”

FIFA declined to comment.

The 2026 World Cup begins on June 11 and is being hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Huge backlash over World Cup ticket prices

Ticket prices for the World Cup have become as much a headline as the matches themselves, especially when their face value is compared to the ticket pricing summary originally listed in the bid book by the three host nations.

FIFA is using dynamic pricing for the first time at this year’s World Cup. That system allows for the cost of tickets to fluctuate based on a variety of factors such as real-time demand, inventory and the popularity of an event. Tickets on FIFA’s official resale platform have skyrocketed.

Balsam said dynamic pricing is legal, but must be transparent.

“It can be considered deceptive if consumers were led to believe that they were purchasing prices in a category at a certain price and only afterwards, the price changed,” Balsam said. “You have to be transparent about your use of dynamic pricing.”

Due to a backlash over exorbitant prices, FIFA introduced a small number of $60 tickets that are tucked high in the top corners of stadiums.

In March, dozens of U.S. lawmakers called on FIFA to lower the cost of tickets for the 2026 World Cup, saying in a letter to the organization that the use of dynamic pricing had turned the event into an exclusionary enterprise at the expense of fans.

Balsam said potential remedies in a civil consumer-protection case could include refunds or changes to ticketing practices.

“FIFA is potentially going to be liable for violation of civil laws… FIFA could also be subject to fines,” Balsam said. “They might also be required to change some of their ticketing practices.”

The state-level probe comes as U.S. prosecutors have moved away from some FIFA-related corruption cases.

On Wednesday, a federal judge in Brooklyn dismissed charges against former 21st Century Fox executive Hernan Lopez and Argentine sports media company Full Play after the Justice Department said it would no longer pursue the case. Lopez and Full Play had been accused of taking part in bribery schemes involving officials at FIFA, CONMEBOL and, for Full Play, CONCACAF, tied to media and broadcast rights for major soccer tournaments.

Balsam said that did not erase the record of earlier FIFA-related convictions, but reflected changing federal enforcement priorities and recent Supreme Court rulings that narrowed the use of fraud statutes in such prosecutions.

“That doesn’t change the fact that we have now a decade’s worth of legal records establishing this corruption and convicting over 30 executives,” Balsam said. “The states here are doing what they often do when the feds change priorities, which is step in to pick up the slack there.”