Lionel Messi is "very likely" to make his PSG debut this Sunday on the road against Ligue 1 side Reims, and the "historic moment has produced an incredible buzz" around the small French club, whose ticket sales have "spiked since Messi's arrival was reported." Reims Dir of Ticketing Alexandre Jeannin said the club had "sold as many tickets (6,000) in four days as we do in three weeks" normally. Jeannin: "We've had incredible online sales, with purchases coming from all over the world: Chili, South Korea, Thailand, Egypt and India, which is a first." Face-value ticket prices for the match "rage from 35 to 100 euros" ($35 to $117), but "tickets on the secondary market were already going for 400 euros" ($470) last week. Capacity at Reims' Stade Auguste-Delaune is around 21,000 (L'EQUIPE, 8/24).
Meanwhile, the French Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) on Tuesday wrote to the French government "asking for help" regarding "security in stadiums" in Ligue 1 following Sunday's pitch invasion during the Nice-Marseille match. LFP President Vincent Labrune is "asking for more resources and more significant penalties" for bad fan behavior (RMC SPORT, 8/24).
