Man City ‘tone deaf’ on ticket deal – fan groups

After Manchester City’s Premier League winners announced a global partnership with Viagogo, a third-party ticket resale platform, fans have accused the club of being “tone deaf.”

On Thursday, City announced that some VIP tickets for both men’s and women’s games would be available on the platform, but not standard tickets.

Fans are concerned that hospitality tickets could end up being sold to away fans and that standard tickets could be purchased at exorbitant prices.

The club banned 165 ticketing accounts for touting, with 354 suspended and 223 being “closely monitored” following reports of Feyenoord, Manchester United, and Real Madrid supporters in their home stadiums this season.

The organizations have instructed supporters to remain on the stadium concourse and refuse to watch City play Leicester City’s opening game of the Premier League on April 2 in a bid to show that “football without fans is nothing.”

According to the statement, City have not yet responded to the open letter signed by seven City supporter groups on ticket pricing seven weeks ago.

City has yet to release season-ticket prices for the 2025-26 season following the Viagogo announcement.

Due to the club’s failure to discuss season ticket prices, City Matters, a representative of the club’s fan advisory board, went on strike for a number of weeks. Thursday, April 3 is now the day before an extraordinary meeting.

Given the magnitude of the issue, City Matters chair Alex Howell told BBC Sport, “To sign a ninth partnership with a ticket resale platform is incredibly tone deaf.”

Without mentioning the legitimate concerns about price collusion and partnering with this particular operator, the statement is untrue.

Viagogo is an official partner and has additional promotional and advertising rights, in addition to City’s approval of resale agreements with eight different companies.

The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) told BBC Sport that “plethora of clubs operate their own in-house ticket resale platforms, allowing supporters to pass on tickets at face value.”

“Why should any club work with a third party company whose sole purpose is to raise prices and make money from matchgoers?

For clubs to penalize supporters who pass on tickets at face value to friends or family members while cozying up to these companies, “feel instinctive.”

City fans participated in nationwide demonstrations organized by the FSA earlier this season about ticket prices.

City claim that all sales made on Viagogo will be made from the already-allocated inventory of hospitality tickets, have a fixed price cap, and not be subject to dynamic ticket pricing.

The Competition and Markets Authority, the UK’s competition watchdog, recommended that Viagogo, a company that deals in ticket resale, be subject to stricter regulations in 2021.

The UK government held a public consultation earlier this year to set resale ticket prices to a maximum.

Cris Miller, Viagogo’s boss, reported to the BBC that “many fans prefer buying on Viagogo rather than purchasing tickets directly for events” and that the business offers a “secure, safe transaction.”

When BBC Sport contacted City, they declined to give a statement.