B.C. soccer fan sues over alleged Lionel Messi 'bait and switch'

A B.C. soccer fan wants to certify a class-action lawsuit against the Vancouver Whitecaps and Major League Soccer (MLS) on behalf of customers who claim they paid through the nose for tickets to a game featuring Lionel Messi, only to see the superstar player turn out to be a last-minute no-show.

In a notice of civil claim filed Tuesday in B.C. Supreme Court, Ho Chun claims he paid $404 for a pair of tickets to a May 25 Whitecaps and Inter Miami CF match which he was led to believe would be headlined by football legends Messi, Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets.

But two days before the game, Chun says event organizers "announced that these famous soccer players would not be attending the game."

"This is a classic case of bait-and-switch," the lawsuit says, citing print, online, social media and even billboard advertising promising the trio of top-tier talent.

"Using such promotional materials as 'bait,' the defendants caused the tickets for the Vancouver v. Miami game to be listed and sold on the primary market at ten times higher than the price of other Vancouver Whitecaps home games," the lawsuit claims.

The proposed class-action lawsuit comes on the heels of a debacle that has already sparked a widely circulated petition calling for compensation and transparency in relation the case of the missing Messi.

Chun wants to certify a lawsuit on behalf of any individual, "anywhere in the world, that was a holder of a ticket to the Vancouver v. Miami game."

He's seeking a full refund for tickets that went unused and a partial refund for tickets that were used amounting to the difference between the price charged for the Miami game and the average price for all other Whitecaps games.

The 22-page claim contains copies of game