AFL urged to act on ticket resale websites

DOZENS of fans who paid over the odds for seats at the weekend’s AFL finals were turned away because they had duplicate tickets, with the league urged to act against resale sites.

The AFL is being urged to order its official ticket seller not to allow resale of seats for hugely inflated prices.

THE AFL is being urged to order its official ticket seller not to allow resale of seats for hugely inflated prices.

Fans desperate to secure ­finals tickets are being gouged on the secondary market.

Ticketmaster Resale advertised tickets to the first week of the finals for up to $700.

And dozens of fans who paid over the odds for seats at the weekend’s finals in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide were turned away because they had duplicate tickets.

Concert promoters and other sporting codes have banned sales of tickets on these resale sites. But the AFL has so far refused to intervene on footy fans’ behalf.

ONLINE SCALPERS RIP OFF DESPERATE RICHMOND AND GEELONG FANS

TICKET RESALES MAY BE CAPPED TO ADDRESS RIP-OFF MERCHANTS

Security check patrons on entry for the second qualifying final between Geelong and Richmond. Dozens of fans were turned away as they had duplicate tickets. Picture: AAP/Julian Smith

Cricket Australia has written a clause into its Ticketmaster contract that tickets to matches such as the Ashes cannot be advertised on Ticketmaster Resale.

Promoter Michael Gudinski also cut a deal with Ticketmaster, banning it from put­ting on its resale site tickets to Ed Sheeran’s tour next March.

Asked whether it would ­approach Ticketmaster to ­remove finals tickets from the resale site, the AFL refused to comment.

It also refused to say whether it earned any profit, or a percentage of ticket sales, from Ticketmaster Resale.

AFL Fans’ Association president Gerry Eeman said supporters would welcome the removal of footy tickets from resale sites. He said fans were tired of the AFL “taking the moral high ground but not rolling up their sleeves and doing anything about it’’.

“Why are we last to the party when we’re the biggest sport that sells the most tickets?’’ Mr Eeman said.

Geelong fan Robert Draper bought two $35 tickets to ­Friday’s final against Richmond for $290 on Ticketmaster Resale. But when he and his dad arrived at the MCG ­turnstiles, their passes were ­rejected.

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ACCC WARNS FANS OVER BUYING AFL FINALS TICKETS ONLINE

Cats fans Suse McLean and Dave Beard, from Jan Juc, suffered the same fate. They bought tickets from Viagogo for $340, only to find on arrival at the ground that someone had already entered using the barcodes on their tickets.

“When we went to scan in, a red cross came up and it said ‘already in’ — we had been sold dodgy tickets that had been sold to other people as well,’’ Mr Beard said. “I don’t want anyone to go through what we did.’’

A high-placed industry source said the AFL’s “deep and direct commercial relationship’’ with Ticketmaster meant it could stop rip-off merchants profiting from fans.

It just needs to tell Ticketmaster to keep finals match tickets off the resale site.

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