Fans told to beware of ticket touting for Messi match
Both the government and organisers of a much-anticipated football match have warned people to be careful of scalpers who try to resell tickets for an upcoming game featuring Argentina legend Lionel Messi. Tickets for the February match at the Hong Kong Stadium sold out within an hour after going on sale on Friday. Those who were successful will receive a QR code for entry. Seats at the match, costing between HK$880 and HK$4,880, could only be purchased on a travel site. But tickets have been found listed elsewhere online, and some at an even higher price. Culture, sports and tourism minister Kevin Yeung said on Saturday that people should be careful if they notice someone reselling such tickets online, because there is no way to confirm whether the QR codes from scalpers are authentic or not. Yeung also said organisers had reserved a majority of tickets for the public, which he pointed out was one of the ways the government deals with scalpers. "For different types of events or activities, we have had different ways to handle them in the past. For example, we would require most tickets to be sold to the public, or adopt a real-name registration whenever appropriate," he said. "We will discuss with organisers to minimise the chance of ticket scalping." Organisers also urged supporters not to purchase tickets from any unofficial channels. "Each ticket is valid for a one-time entry only and those who purchase tickets from non-official channels are taking a significant risk as there is no way for them to identify the validity of their e-ticket," they said on social media. Organisers added that they are working out TV broadcast arrangements for the match.