Fifa says quite a few empty seats have been seen within the near-sell-out Group A match between South Korea and the Czech Republic due to followers remaining on concourses.
Soccer’s world governing physique introduced an attendance of 44,985 on the 46,000-seat Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, resulting in accusations they exaggerated the variety of individuals within the stadium.
The discrepancy adopted pre-tournament criticism of ticket pricing and questions over demand for quite a lot of matches within the expanded 48-team World Cup.
“Official attendance figures mirror the variety of tickets scanned and spectators current throughout the stadium footprint, fairly than visible assessments of seating occupancy at any given second throughout the match,” Fifa mentioned.
“Fifa works intently with stadium authorities and ticketing groups to make sure all printed figures are primarily based on verified operational knowledge.
“Please word that, throughout final night time’s match in Guadalajara, a number of ticketed followers might be seen standing in concourses fairly than staying of their assigned seats all through the match.”
The organisers additionally issued an image displaying a largely full stadium.