RED-hot tickets for Blues’ eagerly-anticipated Carling Cup final are going for £495 on the internet – six times the costliest cover price through official outlets.

A total of 139 tickets for the Wembley showpiece, ranging from £300 to £495 per person, have appeared on America-based website tixnet.com weeks ahead of their general sale release.

Birmingham City Football Club today appealed for fans to go through official sources to avoid potentially being barred entry to the first big Wembley final for 55 years.

The online tickets are presented as part of corporate packages with the most expensive individual purchase almost six times the face value of the costliest seat listed on Blues’ website.

The Football League, organisers of the Carling Cup, said that it could not confirm that the tickets available on the website were genuine, and urged fans to go through Birmingham City for their tickets. And Blues moved swiftly to warn eager fans not to buy tickets on the website and also urged them to go through official channels.