Fans of newly promoted Premier League club Huddersfield Town that attempt to resell tickets for any home or away games could have their season passes cancelled.
The Yorkshire club announced the crackdown after finding several tickets for the opening home game against Newcastle United being advertised on secondary marketplace Ticketbis for between £121 (€134/$157) and £159 in the home stands, with some sections marked as ‘sold out’.
Club commercial director Sean Jarvis said that using unofficial websites as a “reselling tool” could see season ticket holders stripped of their cards.
Ticketbis is also listing tickets for Huddersfield’s games against Southampton and Manchester United, with prices ranging between £106 and £230, exceeding the cost of a full season ticket.
Season tickets for all 38 Premier League games at Huddersfield’s John Smith stadium only cost supporters £199, or as low as £100 for long-term pass holders.
The average cost of the cheapest top-flight adult season tickets is £479.89. In 2016, 14 of the Premier League’s 20 clubs froze the cheapest season ticket prices, while five cut them. Therefore, Huddersfield is charging prices that are almost 80 per cent cheaper than its counterparts.
Jarvis tweeted: “This (Ticketbis) is not an official ticket site. Do not use. If SC (season card) holders are found to be using as a reselling tool they will have their card rescinded.”
According to the Huddersfield Daily Examiner newspaper, a spokesman for Huddersfield Town said it would be taking every measure it could to prevent people selling tickets for profit for home and away games. He added that the extent of the problem would become clearer after the first game and it is not currently known whether any of the 20,192 season card holders are involved in re-selling tickets.
The spokesman said: “Any supporter who advertises for sale any home or away tickets, purchased for their own use, will have their own season card cancelled without further recourse.”
No action has been taken against any Huddersfield supporters as of yet, but the club is closely monitoring the situation.
Bob Pepper, of the Huddersfield Town Supporters’ Association, said he had “no truck whatsoever with ticket touts. The club, quite rightly, are very much against these ticket tout websites. I have got no time for them at all. They are making money out of football supporters.”
Image: Neil Turner
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