BANGALORE: The World Cup ticketing fiasco which came to light on Wednesday (February 23) has left the ICC red faced. With just 4000 tickets put on general sale by the tournament organisers.
The ICC's legal head David Becker wrote to ICC's president Sharad Pawar on behalf of the ICC's CEO Haroon Lorgat. The ICC has asked Pawar to intervene after a rush for tickets saw the ticketing site crash moments after tickets for the final were put on sale.
The BCCI appears to have reserved the bulk of the tickets at the final for their own members, leaving the ICC furious with the state of affairs. The ICC also raised questions about the tickets not having reached the fans, despite the fact that some of them had purchased tickets as long as six months ago.
In a letter dated February 23, the ICC's legal head David Backer wrote, "We have received many complaints from fans who purchased tickets but are yet to receive them despite having paid for these tickets more than six months ago. Apart from threat of claims for compensation, this is causing a significant public relations issue for the ICC."
"With the significant demand and little availability (i.e. after 20,000 reserved for MCA & 7,900 for ICC partners) there is potential for chaos & physical injury when the box office sales open. We strongly recommend the sale of tickets be cancelled & tickets sold to defined fans."
"We have not received any tickets for Wankhede Stadium. We have received numerous complaints from our commercial partners, who have paid millions of dollars to receive rights & benefits which include the timely provision of tickets and hospitality. This is placing our sound relationships at breaking point."
"ICC is being seriously challenged and is bitterly disappointed by the above state of affairs, which threaten to undermine everything that all of us have worked so hard to achieve over recent months. We will be grateful for your intervention and assurance that the above issues will be addressed as a matter of urgency."
The ICC's legal head David Becker wrote to ICC's president Sharad Pawar on behalf of the ICC's CEO Haroon Lorgat. The ICC has asked Pawar to intervene after a rush for tickets saw the ticketing site crash moments after tickets for the final were put on sale.
The BCCI appears to have reserved the bulk of the tickets at the final for their own members, leaving the ICC furious with the state of affairs. The ICC also raised questions about the tickets not having reached the fans, despite the fact that some of them had purchased tickets as long as six months ago.
In a letter dated February 23, the ICC's legal head David Backer wrote, "We have received many complaints from fans who purchased tickets but are yet to receive them despite having paid for these tickets more than six months ago. Apart from threat of claims for compensation, this is causing a significant public relations issue for the ICC."
"With the significant demand and little availability (i.e. after 20,000 reserved for MCA & 7,900 for ICC partners) there is potential for chaos & physical injury when the box office sales open. We strongly recommend the sale of tickets be cancelled & tickets sold to defined fans."
"We have not received any tickets for Wankhede Stadium. We have received numerous complaints from our commercial partners, who have paid millions of dollars to receive rights & benefits which include the timely provision of tickets and hospitality. This is placing our sound relationships at breaking point."
"ICC is being seriously challenged and is bitterly disappointed by the above state of affairs, which threaten to undermine everything that all of us have worked so hard to achieve over recent months. We will be grateful for your intervention and assurance that the above issues will be addressed as a matter of urgency."
