Sports
Supporters’ group files lawsuit against ‘excessive’ Fifa World Cup ticket prices
The Football Supporters Europe (FSE) group filed a lawsuit on Tuesday with the European Commission targeting football’s world governing body Fifa over “excessive ticket prices” for this year’s World Cup finals.
The FSE and the Euroconsumers organisation said the tickets for the June 11-July 19 tournament in the US, Canada and Mexico were overpriced and complained that Fifa has a monopoly over the sales.
“Euroconsumers and Football Supporters Europe (FSE) have filed a formal complaint with the European Commission against Fifa, alleging that the football body has abused its monopoly position to impose excessive ticket prices and opaque and unfair purchasing conditions and processes on European fans ahead of the 2026 World Cup,” the FSE said in a statement.
“Fifa holds a monopoly over ticket sales for the 2026 World Cup and has used that power to impose conditions on fans that would never be acceptable in a competitive market,” the group added.
The FSE said the prices for the final were way above those for the 2022 final in Qatar.
“The cheapest openly available final tickets now start at $4,185 — more than seven times the cost of the cheapest 2022 World Cup final ticket,” they said.
By contrast, it said the cheapest Euro 2024 final tickets were 95 euros ($100).
A European Commission spokesperson told AFP they would be “examining” the complaint but Fifa said they had yet to receive it.
The Fifa spokesperson told AFP: “Fifa is focused on ensuring fair access to our game for existing and prospective fans.”
According to Fifa, almost seven million tickets have been made available.
Each person can buy a maximum of four tickets per match and a total of 40 for the whole competition.
There will be a total of 104 matches played at this expanded World Cup, the first ever to feature 48 teams, and ticket prices have soared for the most in-demand games.
FSE said the North American bid team had initially promised tickets would be available from as little as $21, but instead the cheapest tickets to go on sale have been for $60, for example for the Group J opener between Austria and Jordan at the Levi’s Stadium in California.
Most tickets cost at least $200 for matches involving leading nations.
‘Dynamic pricing’
Fifa president Gianni Infantino insists ticket prices are simply a consequence of the huge demand.
“In the US in particular there is this thing called dynamic pricing, meaning the prices will go up or down”, depending on the match in question, Infantino has said.
FSE said the problem with ‘dynamic pricing’ was there was no limit to how high the prices can go.
“Fifa used ‘variable pricing’, or dynamic pricing, with no cap and no transparency on how prices are set,” it said in the statement.
“Some tickets rose 25% between sales phases. Fans had no clear way of knowing the final price before joining the queue.”
Having faced sustained criticism over prices, Fifa announced a cheaper category of tickets priced at $60, but they were reserved for fans of qualified teams and would make up just 10% of each national federation’s allotment.
“Fifa repeatedly advertised $60 group-stage tickets,” FSE said.
“In practice they were so scarce that the entire Category 4 inventory was practically sold out before general public sales opened.”
Fifa is keeping aside an unspecified number of tickets which it will make available from April until the end of the tournament “on a first come, first served basis”.
Then there are the resale platforms, including Fifa’s own official site. But this controversial fan-to-fan market allows resellers to determine prices themselves, hence the huge price advertised for a final ticket.
The resale market is unregulated in the United States and Canada. In Mexico, reselling a ticket above face value is prohibited, but only when the ticket is purchased in Mexico using the local currency.
Travis Head and his wife Jessica have been subjected to a barrage of online abuse after the Australian cricketer was embroiled in a spat with India great Virat Kohli during an IPL match.
The players clashed during the T20 match between Head’s Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Friday.
Heated words were exchanged between the two before Kohli was dismissed for 15 and his team slumped to a 55-run defeat.
As the two sets of players lined up for the post-game handshakes, Kohli ignored Head’s outstretched arm but shook hands with the other players.
The Instagram accounts for Head and Jessica have since been flooded with abusive comments, apparently from fans of the former India captain.
Jessica told The Advertiser newspaper that her friends and family had also received hateful private messages.
“I woke up to my socials blasting… we are fine but they are attacking my friends and family,” she said Monday, according to the reports.
“Passion will always be part of sport, but so is remembering there are real people and families behind the game.
“Hopefully this encourages more kindness, and support for one another.”
She also said it felt like “a repeat of the abuse that happened after the World Cup”, referring to the 2023 50-over tournament when Australia beat hosts India in the final in Ahmedabad.
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IndyCar rookie Caio Collet was involved in a terrifying crash toward the end of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday afternoon with Felix Rosenqvist and Pato O’Ward fighting for first place.
Collet got loose in Turn 2 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and overcorrected just enough to send his vehicle into the wall. His right rear caught fire as he skidded down the track and onto the grass.
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Caio Collet drives a Combitrans AJ Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet through turn three during practice on Miller Lite Carb Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Ind., on May 22, 2026. (Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire)
Emergency personnel came over to put the fire out and help Collet out of his car.
He was able to walk away from the scary wreck, but track officials called for a red flag. The red flag stopped the race and gave drivers a breather for what would be a total shootout for the final few laps.
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Caio Collet leads the field during the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis on May 24, 2026. (Michael Conroy/AP)
Collet will fall down the leaderboard as he didn’t finish the race.
The A.J. Foyt Racing driver was making his first appearance in the Indy 500. He graduated into the NTT IndyCar Series after finishing second in the Indy NXT Series last year. He won three races on the Indy NXT Series in 2025.
The Brazilian came into the race in 21st place in the IndyCar standings with 70 points through six starts. He has yet to finish in the top 10 in his first season.
David Maluka talks with Caio Collet before practice for the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis on May 18, 2026. (Michael Conroy/AP)
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The 2026 Indy 500 already featured more than 50 lead changes and was one of the more competitive events in recent memory.
Felix Rosenqvist won the race on the final lap.
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When the NASCAR Cup Series went to Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600 in 2025, Ross Chastain got into Victory Lane after closing at +1800 to be the outright winner.
Chastain’s impressive win came after leading only eight laps on the day.
Which driver will take the checkered flag when the series goes back to Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day Weekend for one of NASCAR’s Crown Jewels?
Here are the odds at DraftKings Sportsbook as of May 24.
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.
NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600
Denny Hamlin: +380 (bet $10 to win $48 total)
Tyler Reddick: +500 (bet $10 to win $60 total)
Kyle Larson: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Christopher Bell: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Chase Briscoe: +1000 (bet $10 to win $110 total)
William Byron: +1100 (bet $10 to win $120 total)
Carson Hocevar: +1100 (bet $10 to win $120 total)
Ryan Blaney: +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total)
Chase Elliott: +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total)
Brad Keselowski: +1800 (bet $10 to win $190 total)
Ty Gibbs: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
Ross Chastain: +2200 (bet $10 to win $230 total)
Chris Buescher: +2500 (bet $10 to win $260 total)
Bubba Wallace: +2800 (bet $10 to win $290 total)
Alex Bowman: +2800 (bet $10 to win $290 total)
Austin Dillon: +4000 (bet $10 to win $410 total)
Joey Logano: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
Connor Zilisch: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
Austin Hill: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
Austin Cindric: +5500 (bet $10 to win $560 total)
Ryan Preece: +9000 (bet $10 to win $910 total)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: +9000 (bet $10 to win $910 total)
Michael McDowell: +9000 (bet $10 to win $910 total)
Corey Heim: +9000 (bet $10 to win $910 total)
Erik Jones: +10000 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Shane van Gisbergen: +13000 (bet $10 to win $1,310 total)
AJ Allmendinger: +15000 (bet $10 to win $1,510 total)
Daniel Suarez: +17000 (bet $10 to win $1,710 total)
Josh Berry: +18000 (bet $10 to win $1,810 total)
John Hunter Nemechek: +25000 (bet $10 to win $2,510 total)
Zane Smith: +35000 (bet $10 to win $3,510 total)
Ty Dillon: +50000 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Noah Gragson: +50000 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Todd Gilliland: +60000 (bet $10 to win $6,010 total)
Riley Herbst: +60000 (bet $10 to win $6,010 total)
Cole Custer: +80000 (bet $10 to win $8,010 total)
Katherine Legge: +90000 (bet $10 to win $9,010 total)
Timmy Hill: +100000 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Cody Ware: +100000 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Here’s what to know about the oddsboard:
The Favorite
Denny Hamlin is coming in hot off an All-Star Race win at Dover. And while it wasn’t a points race, coming into Charlotte after starting from the pole and leading 103 laps in last week’s exhibition could give him the momentum he needs to grab the checkered flag at the Coke 600. His first and only win at this race came in 2022. In 2025, he started 20th but finished 16th after posting the best lap of the day at 29.37 and leading 53 laps.
One to Watch
Tyler Reddick is having an incredible season. He’s gotten into Victory Lane five times, including the first three races of the year. Cup qualifying got rained out, so Reddick will start from the pole today at Charlotte in accordance with league rules. On the season, Reddick has led 201 laps and has eight finishes in the top five. In 2025, he finished the Coca-Cola 600 26th after leading only one lap.
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