Viagogo hit with fine in clampdown on ticketing black market

Viagogo was banned from advertising false alleged original prices for TSG home games. As the ticketing provider had so far chosen to ignore the ban, the Heidelberg District Court decided to impose a fine amounting to €12,000. This may be followed by further sanctions.  

TSG and the entire ticketing department led by Ticketing Manager Thorsten Baller welcomed the decision: "We are pleased about the renewed judicial confirmation of our action against this platform, which for a long time now has been causing big problems for both our fans and ourselves. We can only continue to warn against purchases of overpriced and potentially invalid tickets on this and other similar unauthorised platforms. Private sellers who can no longer attend the match and wish to pass on their tickets at a fair price can use the official TSG Ticket Exchange.''

Fight against the black market for tickets

Dr. Markus Schütz, a partner at the Kanzlei SCHÜTZ law firm, works alongside TSG in their fight against the black market for tickets. He is equally happy with the verdict arrived at by the court: "It is possible for clubs and event organisers to fight back against providers of this nature. The decision of the Heidelberg District Court demonstrates that such efforts will prove successful in the long run. But this requires patience, as the TSG case has proven over the course of the past year. Viagogo is also known for exhausting all legal possibilities in order to delay the effective enforcement of claims for as long as possible. We therefore expect the ongoing main proceedings to continue for a longer period of time.''