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Hundreds of complaints about promotion of the Australia-USA basketball game in Melbourne has prompted an investigation by the consumer watchdog.
The consumer watchdog is investigating whether basketball fans were misled by promoters about seating and the stars on show at the much-hyped Australia-USA game in Melbourne.
Fans, including Hollywood star Russell Crowe, complained on social media about views from sections of Marvel Stadium - usually used for football - for the pre-World Cup friendly on Thursday night.
Before the game, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission had already received hundreds of complaints from ticketholders who claimed to have been misled about which players were involved and wanted refunds.
"We've now added to that investigation whether or not consumers have been misled over the seating and the quality of the seating," ACCC chair Rod Sims told reporters in Sydney on Friday.
"We take allegations of misleading behaviour very serious and the penalties for breaching the Consumer Act are significant."
Sims said the matter was complicated but involved a lot of consumers and the number of ticketholders ringing to complain was high.
"They were angry and wanted a refund," he said.
"We can well understand that if something is advertised with certain elite players ... if you don't have the key players that could well significantly affect whether you're still interested in attending."
Both the promoters and ticket sellers were aware of the ACCC's investigation, he said.
Crowe tweeted a video from his $1500-courtside seat on Thursday night, labelling it a joke.
"If you weren't among 50,000 there and you chose to watch it on TV at home, good decision," he wrote.
"The only thing achieved tonight by @BasketballAus was enjoining with the promoters in ripping off well meaning lovers of the sport. It was a farce."
Basketball Australia and event promoters TEG Live issued a joint statement on Friday which claimed the "feedback to us has been strongly positive" before admitting there were concerns.
"Clearly there have been some fans that feel their expectations were not met on their purchased seats.
"Of the 11,000 fans who had purchased floor seating only 200 people were relocated and just two refunds were requested," the statement said.
"We appreciate that it was a different viewing experience than many basketball fans are used to because the event was staged within a traditional football stadium."
Basketball Australia and TEG Live pointed out there were 14 massive video screens "to augment the live action, including providing action replays, statistics and video pieces to keep the audience entertained".
The second and final match is held at the same venue on Saturday where Basketball Australia and TEG Live expected a record crowd for a basketball game in the country.
