Fans have been rushing to buy tickets on resale platforms to see England face South Africa in the Rugby World Cup final, with prices hitting £12,400 (€14,400/$16,000) each, despite organisers warning they will not be accepted.
Resale websites such as StubHub and Viagogo has had tickets appear on their websites for 16 times the face value of a ticket.
A pair of Category A tickets were being sold for £25,000 on StubHub, with the original face value being £717 each. The cheapest ticket on offer for the game was £1,501 on the two major resale websites, which is seven times its original price.
Rugby World Cup organisers have continuously urged fans to avoid secondary sites as they would be turned away at the stadium, though that has not seemed to have stunted demand.
Earlier in the tournament, organisers said the number of incidences of fans buying through unofficial channels had been “relatively small” but “likely to increase” as the tournament goes on – which has proved to be true.
In September, Viagogo called the Rugby World Cup’s resale policy “unfair and disingenuous” after it was found to be listing tickets against the tournament’s rules.
Organisers of the Japan event have listed Viagogo as an “unauthorised entity,” along with StubHub, SeatGeek, LiveRugbyTickets.co.uk and Rugby Ticket Service. The official Rugby World Cup website states that no tickets bought through Viagogo and other websites “shall be deemed valid or usable under any circumstances.”
Image: RWC 2019
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