Thousands of World Cup Fans Lose StubHub Tickets as FIFA App Glitches Snarl Transfers
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 27
Thousands of World Cup Fans Lose StubHub Tickets as FIFA App Glitches Snarl Transfers
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 27
Summary
Thousands of World Cup fans were told days or even hours before matches that StubHub tickets they thought they had bought did not exist, stranding travelers and wiping out costly trips.
StubHub blamed many cases on transfer failures tied to FIFA’s new ticketing app, while critics said the platform has a broader history of undelivered tickets and disputed its claim that sellers simply backed out.
150 clients represented by one attorney say StubHub owes them $2.4 million, and advocates urged affected fans to press for replacement tickets rather than accept refunds that may only cover lower-quality seats.
U.S. buyers can dispute charges with credit-card issuers and file complaints with the FTC or state attorneys general, but forced arbitration clauses often block lawsuits and can stretch claims out for months.
The fallout is reviving calls to ban speculative 'ghost ticketing' through the Ticket Act and pushing fans toward FIFA’s official sales channel, which FIFA says is the only platform it can guarantee.