South Florida couple receives free World Cup tickets after StubHub abruptly refunded previous purchase

MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida couple is relieved to know they would still be able to see the Argentina-Cape Verde match after going through a major ordeal when ticketing giant StubHub abruptly refunded their tickets.

Virna Chavez and Antonio Lozano bought their tickets for Friday’s round of 32 match at Miami Stadium nearly a year ago. Just over a week before the game, they got a notice from StubHub that those tickets were canceled and that they would receive a full refund.

Prior to Thursday, they thought their highly anticipated World Cup plans were over.

“‘Every order is 100% guaranteed. You’ll get valid tickets in time for the event or we’ll make it right,'” said Chavez, reading the receipt from her purchase she had printed out. “They didn’t make it right.”

At first, Chavez thought her dreams of seeing a World Cup match in person was gone.

She and her husband bought the tickets through StubHub in September 2025 for a match at Miami Stadium on July 3. At the time, they didn’t know who would be playing

They were ecstatic to find out that those tickets would end up being a chance to watch Lionel Messi and Argentina battle for a chance to repeat as World Cup winners in what may be La Pulga’s final appearance in the global tournament.

“This is probably gonna be one of the last opportunities to see him,” said Lozano.

“My friends were telling me, ‘Oh, my God, you sure picked the right ticket because look at this, this is a great match,'” said Chavez.

On June 25, the couple received an email from StubHub, which abruptly informed them that the tickets they bought 10 months ago would be canceled and that they would receive a refund in the coming days.

“The only explanation they gave me was that the seller wasn’t able to fulfill the order,” said Chavez.

They’re far from the only ones who felt they’ve been snubbed by StubHub. Several posts across social media from ticketless fans expressed similar issues.

On Tuesday, a class-action lawsuit was filed by fans in New York, claiming StubHub was responsible for “misleading sales in the secondary market for World Cup 2026 Tickets.”

A StubHub statement shared with 7News claims the issues stem from FIFA, reading in part:

“Largely driven by performance problems with the event organizer’s own ticketing infrastructure, which has created transfer failures across all resale platforms.”

According to the lawsuit, “FIFA rejects any suggestion that the functional issues… are the result of FIFA’s ticketing infrastructure.”

Meantime for Chavez and Lozano, their primary concern is just being able to attend the dream event that they had already paid for.

“I should be able to go if I paid for it 10 months in advance,” said Chavez.

After 7News got involved in her case, StubHub has since reached out to Chavez, offering her tickets in the same section that she originally reserved in September, this time at no cost.

Even though she’s pleased with this outcome, she said this experience should be a wake-up call for secondary ticket sellers.

“This is a very easy transaction. I give you my money, you give me my tickets. If you don’t have the tickets then don’t sell them,” said Chavez.

StubHub also told 7News they have set up a support team specifically assigned to issues surrounding World Cup ticket purchases to help individuals like Chavez and her husband get replacement tickets for any that were canceled.

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