FIFA has been hit with a court injunction over its ticketing practices just before the 2026 World Cup final.

The preliminary injunction bars FIFA from continuing disputed ticketing practices involving consumers in Germany. The order followed a complaint from Berlin-based secondary ticket marketplace Ticombo, which called FIFA's practices "manipulative."

The injunction carries penalties of up to €250,000 ($287,000) per violation or up to six months' imprisonment for FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Secretary General Mattias Grafström.

"Ticombo initiated this legal action to establish that transparency, fairness and consumer rights must remain central standards in the ticketing industry, including for the world's largest sporting events," the company said in a statement.

"We take consumer protection and transparency very seriously and believe that all players must abide by the same rules," Ticombo legal counsel Marçal Gutiérrez told Newsweek. "This is why we took action."

FIFA did not attend the court proceedings and had not responded to the injunction, The Guardian reported. Newsweek has contacted FIFA for comment.

FIFA's ticketing practices under scrutiny

The World Cup has drawn criticism over soaring ticket prices and limited transparency in FIFA's ticketing system.

FIFA has attributed higher prices to unprecedented demand, but the pricing has prompted lawsuits from fans, criticism from lawmakers and investigations by host-city officials.

In late May, New York Attorney General Letitia James and New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport subpoenaed FIFA as part of a joint investigation into its ticketing practices.

Davenport accused FIFA of turning ticket purchases into a "gauntlet of confusion, fake scarcity and impossibly high prices."

"Recent press reports indicate that fans may have been misled about the locations of the seats they were purchasing and FIFA's public statements and ticket releases may have contributed to soaring prices," the New York Attorney General's Office said.

Samuel A.A. Levine, commissioner of New York City's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, said FIFA's practices may have violated U.S. consumer protection laws.

Ticombo's complaint alleges FIFA failed to disclose the "identity and address of commercial sellers" on its official resale platform.

"While FIFA has marketed its platform as a fair 'fan-to-fan' exchange, it systematically concealed the identity and any possible trader status of its sellers," the company said. "This opaque system would allow commercial entities to operate as undisclosed traders selling ticket allocations at heavily inflated prices."

The company also accused FIFA of using "a combination of manipulative design features" on its primary ticketing platform, including bait-and-switch pricing that increased costs at checkout.

What the ruling actually requires

According to TicketNews, the Frankfurt court ordered FIFA to disclose the identities and addresses of commercial sellers using its official resale marketplace.

Court filings cited by CryptoBriefing also highlighted checkout countdown timers that expired after six minutes and could not be reset. Ticombo argued the timers pressured consumers into completing purchases before fully evaluating them.

Because the injunction was issued without an oral hearing due to the tournament's timing, it is not a final ruling on the merits.

Marçal Gutiérrez Balle, Ticombo's head of legal, described the decision as an application of existing law rather than the creation of new legal standards. FIFA can still challenge the ruling but had not responded before the order was issued.

Limited practical impact

The injunction applies only to consumers in Germany and came too late to affect ticket sales for the current World Cup.

Ticombo has said it instead hopes the ruling increases pressure on FIFA ahead of the 2030 World Cup, which will be primarily hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain.

According to Associated Press, Ticombo also plans to pursue legal action in Switzerland, where FIFA is headquartered, though that process is expected to take considerably longer.

Ticombo told Newsweek it is "not seeking monetary compensation" and hopes the ruling "will serve as a powerful reminder that all players in the ticketing industry, including major event organizers who try to control their own closed resale systems, must abide by the same rules of transparency, consumer protection and fair competition."

Separately, Big News Network reported that New Jersey's attorney general intends to continue investigating FIFA's ticketing practices after the tournament ends, suggesting regulatory scrutiny will extend beyond the World Cup final.

Pratik Sharma is a writer at Knewz