New York, New Jersey take legal action against FIFA in probe over World Cup ticket pricing

Letitia James and Jennifer Davenport, the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey, said in a release that they have asked FIFA for information about ticket-selling processes for World Cup matches set to be held at MetLife Stadium this summer. Eight games, including the final, will take place at the home regularly used by the New York Giants and New York Jets.

"New Yorkers have been waiting years for the World Cup to come to their backyard, and they deserve a fair shot at affordable tickets. No one should be manipulated into paying sky-high prices for seats, and fans should be able to trust that the tickets they purchased will be the ones they receive," James said.

FIFA declined to comment when contacted by GOAL for a response.

The suit comes after FIFA enacted controversial dynamic pricing practices in its World Cup ticketing. While commonplace in many events in the United States, it has yet to be used at a World Cup. It has led to widespread reports of fans being either misled about where their seats are, or paying more up front for seats that later became cheaper. FIFA maintains that dynamic pricing is standard in the United States and has repeatedly defended its ticketing policy.

The attorney generals promised that their joint investigation would look into whether FIFA's ticket release schedule may have impacted rising prices for the World Cup.

They have fluctuated significantly between various selling windows, with prices for the main three categories of seats reportedly rising by 34 percent between October and April.

"Being honest about ticket sales is not complicated," Davenport said in a statement. "But FIFA has turned buying a ticket to the World Cup into a gauntlet of confusion, fake scarcity and impossibly high prices."

They will also look into allegations that fans were misled about seat locations. Those who purchased "category 1" seats in the original sale have subsequently found themselves allocated inferior seats to those who purchased later. Due to increased demand for the top-quality spots, FIFA introduced "front category" zones, some of which were superior to "category 1" seats.

"Reports indicate that fans who bought tickets before these new zones were introduced were excluded from those seats and instead assigned less desirable seats, including seats far from the field or behind the goals," the joint release added.

Still, for all of the talk of investigation, reports indicate that ticket prices on the secondary market are declining steeply. The average get-in prices for a group stage fixture was $550 on May 19, some 23 percent lower than in January.