NEW YORK - World Cup fans have sued StubHub Inc, accusing the resale platform of failing to deliver expensive tickets they bought on the secondary market for the world’s premier soccer tournament. In a proposed class action filed late Tuesday night in Manhattan federal court, fans claimed they “did not get what they paid for” because StubHub never delivered their promised tickets. StubHub did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Fans have flooded social media during the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada, blaming StubHub for last-minute ticket cancellations and for backing away from assurances they could get replacement tickets. Many ticketholders say they travelled long distances to watch matches, and ticket refunds offered little comfort because they remained stuck with airfare and lodging costs. “[Fans] were lied to and purchased World Cup Tickets for large sums of money – only to incur tremendous financial losses," the complaint said. “This is a new low for a sports ticketing industry that has been rampant with consumer protection issues time and time again to the detriment of the fans who make sports special.” StubHub has blamed FIFA’s ticketing infrastructure for problems with ticket resales. FIFA had urged fans to only use its own official resale platform, saying it was reliable. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages of at least US$5 million for thousands of people in the United States who didn’t receive World Cup tickets they bought through StubHub, for alleged violations of various consumer protection and false advertising laws. Reporting by Amy Tennery and Shariq Khan in New York, additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien.
