The Chelsea Supporters' Trust (CST) has called on the Premier League to "act and investigate" Todd Boehly's association with Vivid Seats, with the fan group writing a lengthy open letter to Chief Executive Officer, Richard Masters.
Back in February, the CST issued a statement on Boehly's connection with a popular ticket resale website and described it as a "breach of trust". A report from The Times in February said Boehly, who is a co-owner of Chelsea FC, is a director of Vivid Seats.
British users cannot use Vivid Seats or similar websites because the law states that it is illegal to resell tickets in this way in the UK - and that has been the case for more than 30 years now. Vivid Seats also sell tickets for other sports, as well as music concerts, theatre and comedy shows.
Almost two months after the initial statement was made, the CST has penned a detailed open letter to Masters, the CEO of the Premier League, where they have called on an investigation into Boehly's association with Vivid Seats to take place. CST have described the American billionaire's involvement as "totally inappropriate", with members of the group - and the wider Chelsea fan base - concerned about "a clear conflict of interest".
Starting with "Dear Mr Masters", the letter reads as follows: "We are writing to you as the elected board of the Chelsea Supporters' Trust in response to recent reports connecting Todd Boehly and the ticket exchange and resale company, Vivid Seats.
"The CST has penned this letter as we have received a significant amount of correspondence from concerned CST members and supporters from the wider Chelsea FC fanbase on this issue that cannot be ignored. As a membership-led organisation, the CST board is writing to you on behalf of our members.
"Since its inception, the CST has been in regular dialogue with Chelsea Football Club, the Premier League, the Football Supporters' Association [FSA], and other key stakeholders regarding the ongoing battle against ticket touting and the illegal sales of tickets on third party websites. We were therefore dismayed when, in early February, it was highlighted that Todd Boehly sits on the Board of Directors of Vivid Seats. It has also been reported that through his holding company, Mr Boehly owns approximately 41% of Vidid Seats.
"Vivid Seats currently lists tickets for every Premier League fixture for the remainder of the season and most tickets are being sold for above face value at significantly inflated rates. For example, a ticket for Liverpool's final home fixture of the season is currently listed on Vivid Seats for almost £20k.
"Most notably, Vivid Seats currently lists hundreds of Chelsea FC General Admission tickets at significantly inflated prices. As these ticket prices are not sold by the Chelsea FC website, they are considered by CFC to be 'illegal sales'. To further compound matters, Vivid Seats is also explicitly named on the Premier League website as a 'known unauthorised ticket website'.
"Many CST members are clearly infuriated by this connection and have written to us to say that Mr Boehly's association with Vivid Seats is a 'breach of trust' and 'a clear conflict of interest'.
"It is also important to note that over the past month, the CST board has been encouraged by the renewed efforts of Chelsea FC to provide reassurance to supporters on the robust action it is taking to tackle ticket touting and stop those participating in this illegal activity. Working closely with CST, the club has recently updated the ticket tout section of the website and has proactively contacted supporters with details on how it is ensuring tickets are not being sold illegally.
"Relevant officers from the Metropolitan Police have also written to the CST to provide reassurance that the policing team are working hard to clamp down on street touting around Stamford Bridge. We also note that the Premier League has an ongoing campaign to highlight the importance of buying directly from PL clubs and that 'buying from unauthorised sources can leave real fans out of pocket, or worse still, outside the stadium'.
"As a Director of Chelsea FC and part-owner, Mr Boehly's connection with Vivid Seats is totally inappropriate and significantly undermines the efforts of Chelsea FC, the Premier League, and the Metropolitan Police to combat ticket touting.
"Mr Boehly has been contacted directly by the CST and has been offered multiple opportunities to both publicly and privately address supporters' concerns. Neither Mr Boehly nor his representatives have, however, acted on these requests, and thousands of tickets remain for sale on the Vivid Seats website.
"The CST firmly believes that it is now time for the Premier League to act and investigate. We would welcome your views as Chief Executive Officer of the Premier League on this matter and anticipate that the Premier League would take this opportunity to act swiftly and ensure that a major shareowner of a Premier League club ceases facilitating the sale of tickets for significantly above face value.
"The Chelsea Supporters' Trust does not believe that it is appropriate for any Chelsea FC tickets or wider Premier League tickets to be listed on the Vivid Seats website. Not only is Vivid Seats unauthorised to sell Chelsea FC tickets and contravenes the Chelsea FC ticketing policy, but the website is explicitly named by the Premier League as a 'known unauthorised ticket website'.
"To reiterate the point, Mr Boehly's connection with Vivid Seats undermines the ongoing efforts of Chelsea FC, the Metropolitan Police, and the Premier League to combat ticket touting. We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you and your board to discuss this matter further.
"We look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely, the Chelsea Supporters' Trust Board."
A spokesperson for the Football Supporters' Association agreed with the points made by the CST: "The Football Supporters' Association is right behind the points made by our members at Chelsea Supporters' Trust. It is crystal clear that the Premier League needs to take action.
"Clubs, supporters' groups, the police and the Premier League itself has worked hard in recent years to combat ticket touting - there is no excuse for a club owner to be involved in such activity."