Ticket Controversy Flares Anew

The 1998 World Cup, which has been beset by ticket troubles since France was awarded the tournament, was rocked by new allegations of abuse Friday.

Leaders of FIFA, the sport’s world governing body, said they were investigating claims that soccer officials in Cameroon and Colombia had illegally sold tickets allocated to those federations.

Another investigation centers on an employee of ISL France, an off-shoot of the Swiss company ISL, FIFA’s official marketing partner. Allegedly, the employee “apparently sold [several thousand] tickets he did not have,” according to FIFA.

Because of the relatively small size of French stadiums, demand has exceeded the supply of 2.7 million tickets. As a result, their value has skyrocketed, to 10 or 20 times face value, depending on the game.

That, in turn, prompted tour operators and ticket agencies unlicensed by FIFA to promise, and indeed sell, tickets they did not have. Thousands of fans in at least half a dozen countries--the majority in Japan--have paid for tickets that have not been forthcoming.

The only legitimate sources for World Cup tickets are FIFA and the French World Cup Organizing Committee, national soccer federations and 17 licensed ticket brokers around the world.

Fans repeatedly have been warned not to deal with anyone but licensed brokers and to be skeptical of claims by any company claiming to have access to tickets.

“Clearly, those warnings have not been heeded,” said Jacques Lambert, the organizing committee’s managing director.

While investigating the situation, FIFA has promised that the procedures for ticket sales and distribution will be changed for the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.