ATLANTA (AP) \u2014 Bina Ramroop broke down in tears when she realized she wasn\u2019t going to get the World Cup<\/a> tickets she had bought for her grandson\u2019s 13th birthday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As thousands poured into Atlanta Stadium on Monday to see Spain face Cape Verde in what turned out to be a remarkable scoreless draw,<\/a> Ramroop stood outside, increasingly stressed as she went back and forth for hours between StubHub representatives on the phone and FIFA representatives in the ticket booth. Each blamed the other.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n No one could figure out why the tickets Ramroop bought months ago on StubHub for $485 apiece couldn\u2019t be transferred from the original seller to the FIFA ticketing app. StubHub offered her a refund and, as Ramroop heard the crowd roar for the start of the match, she knew she had no choice but to give up and take the offer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t want a refund, I didn\u2019t want my money back,\u201d Ramroop said. \u201cI wanted to go to the game.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The World Cup has delivered thrills on the pitch, but fans have flooded social media with complaints about tickets that never arrived, orders that were canceled at the last minute and hours they spent trying to sort out problems between FIFA\u2019s ticketing system and outside resale platforms. The vast majority seem to be about industry titan StubHub, but people who bought through competitors such as SeatGeek and Vivid Seats have also reported issues. Interviews with fans and industry experts show that some cases stem from technical glitches in the transfer process, while others could involve sellers who never had tickets to deliver in the first place, though StubHub denies such sales happen on its platform.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n FIFA has urged fans to buy resale tickets through its own marketplace, where it slaps a 30% surcharge on every resold ticket \u2014 15% each from the buyer and seller. But many fans bought through other resale sites, either out of habit or because those sites have lower prices or are easier to navigate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ramroop didn\u2019t realize she was taking a risk when she bought through StubHub, which she had used in the past without issues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As she and her grandson Elijah Gomes took the long, lonely train ride back to the Atlanta suburbs, Elijah followed the score on his phone. The match had ended scoreless, and he tried to cheer up his devastated grandmother by telling her they hadn\u2019t missed much after all (Cape Verdeans would beg to differ<\/a> ).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cHe\u2019s telling me, \u2018Grandma, it\u2019s OK, Grandma.\u2019 And he\u2019s trying to console me,\u201d Ramroop said the next day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n She was hardly alone. An Associated Press journalist witnessed more than a dozen frustrated fans at the match who said they were stuck in similar situations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n StubHub blamed FIFA for the transfer problems that buyers like Ramroop have experienced. In a statement, it said FIFA has \u201cpoor technology infrastructure,\u201d enacted last-minute transfer restrictions and didn\u2019t launch its new ticketing app until a few weeks before the tournament. The company also called out organizers that \u201ctake anti-competitive actions\u201d that limit where fans can buy and sell tickets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Asked about the technical issues, FIFA on Wednesday reiterated that sales through its official site are guaranteed to go through.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Industry observers say the problems appear to stem from more than one cause. For some, it may indeed be technical glitches \u2014 an issue that StubHub says is \u201cvery, very rare\u201d and one that it is hard at work to solve. For others, they say it\u2019s likely a more longstanding scourge: speculative sellers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Scott Friedman, an industry veteran and co-founder of a consultancy called the Ticket Talk Network, said some sellers list tickets before they actually have them, betting that prices will fall closer to the event so they can buy the tickets at a better price later. But because World Cup ticket prices have surged since the tournament began, those sellers have been forced to either buy expensive tickets to fulfill their orders or cancel and accept penalties from resale platforms. StubHub\u2019s penalties are typically 200% of the ticket price, Friedman said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThis is not new at all,\u201d said Friedman, pointing to other high-profile events where frustrated fans were left empty-handed, including Taylor Swift\u2019s Eras tour.<\/a> \u201cThis has been going on, but it\u2019s making global news because it\u2019s the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n StubHub says it requires sellers to prove they have tickets before they list them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n But regardless of the reason for the canceled sales, Friedman said \u201cStubHub should fill every single order to make sure fans get in the biggest global sporting event that happens every four years.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n That\u2019s what many fans say they expected when they purchased through StubHub.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n StubHub\u2019s FanProtect Guarantee promises replacement tickets or a refund if tickets fail to arrive. But the policy repeatedly says those remedies are provided at StubHub\u2019s \u201csole discretion,\u201d meaning the company can choose a refund instead of securing replacement seats.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThat is pretty explicit language,\u201d said Michael McCann, a sports law expert at the University of New Hampshire. McCann noted that a buyer could try to challenge the language under state consumer protection laws, but it would be an uphill battle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Bina](\"https:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/6a352e0e19000027b42767bd.jpeg?cache=HS6uAw4Gjx&ops=scalefit_720_noupscale&format=webp)
<\/picture><\/div>\nA grandmother\u2019s disappointment<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
An industry\u2019s longstanding problem<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
A father\u2019s regrets<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n