Croke Park touts need to be shown red card, says Offaly TD

Offaly's Fine Gael TD John Clendennen has called for stronger action to be taken on the resale of tickets for sporting events – including the upcoming meeting of English Premier League clubs Manchester Utd and Leeds Utd at Croke Park.

Deputy Clendennen said that tickets for the sold-out friendly match between the English clubs are being resold online for up to seven times the original price, 'despite the venue being covered by anti-touting legislation'.

Deputy Clendennen said: “This is a sold-out, family friendly fixture at a stadium which has been legally designated to prevent this kind of price-gouging, and yet the tickets are sitting openly on resale sites at multiples of their face value.”

Tickets for the game sold out earlier this year with prices starting at €50 for adults and €25 for under-16s. Croke Park has been on the register of designated venues covered by the 2021 Act since its commencement.

Despite this, tickets are currently listed on secondary sites at prices ranging from €112 up to €454, with some UK-based platforms advertising seats for £159 to £344.

One site is also advertising tickets for the game which have a starting price of €325.

Deputy Clendennen said: “I have raised this issue repeatedly from the Six Nations to the Ryder Cup, and the pattern is always the same: strong legislation, but no visible enforcement. Ordinary fans who missed out on the official sale are now being asked to pay hundreds of euro to touts, while the law designed to stop this sits unused.”

Deputy Clendennen says he will continue to work with Enterprise Minister Peter Burke on the issue to ensure the Gardaí and the Competition and Consumer Protection Comission (CCPC) are equipped to deal with the issue.

“I will continue to engage and work with an Garda Síochána and the CCPC to ensure they have the powers needed to take action against operators openly advertising these tickets. Since the Act commenced in 2021, there has not been a single prosecution. That needs to change.

With the game (Manchester Utd v Leeds Utd) just days away, I’m calling for the gardaí and the CCPC to act now, not after the final whistle has blown,” said Deputy Clendennen.