FIFA issues statement as ticket problems lead to England fans missing kick-off in World Cup 2022 game with Iran in Qatar
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Updated 21/11/2022 at 13:51 GMT
England started their World Cup campaign against Iran with lots of empty seats at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha. It was reported that issues with FIFA's ticketing app led to thousands of supporters waiting for hours outside and having to get printed tickets at a 'resolution queue'. FIFA issued a statement about the problem. England captain Harry Kane wore a 'No Discrimination' armband.
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England’s World Cup opener against Iran kicked off on time despite reported issues with ticketing that led to thousands of fans being stuck still waiting outside the stadium.
Gareth Southgate’s side started their Group B campaign at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.
While a number of supporters did get into the ground for kick-off, the Telegraph were among several outlets reporting that others had troubles.
The issue seemed to be with the FIFA ticketing app not working for some fans.
FIFA said in a statement: “Some spectators are currently experiencing an issue with accessing their tickets via the FIFA ticketing app. FIFA is working on solving the issue.
“In the meantime, fans who are not able to access their mobile tickets should check the email accounts they used to register with the ticketing app for further instructions.
"In case fans cannot access their email accounts, the stadium's Ticket Resolution Point will be able to support. We thank fans for their understanding as we work to fix the issue as soon as possible.”
Several people on social media said their match tickets had disappeared from the app. There were also pictures showing fans waiting for printed tickets at a 'resolution queue'.
When the match did start there were large sections of empty seats inside the Khalifa International Stadium.
Former England striker Gary Lineker addressed the ticketing issue ahead of the match on the BBC.
"We're getting reports that England fans have had a two-hour wait outside the stadium due to issues with the FIFA ticketing app.
"There are obviously lots of empty seats and apparently there are long queues and some fans haven't got in yet from outside the stadium.”
England took a knee before the match and captain Harry Kane also wore FIFA’s 'No Discrimination' armband after the FA opted against wearing a 'One Love' armband.
Seven nations, including England and Wales, had planned to wear the armband during matches in Qatar to promote diversity and inclusion.
However, under the threat of sporting punishment from FIFA, including a potential yellow card for the team captains, the nations decided to not go ahead with the move.
The decision was made less than 24 hours before England’s first game against Iran.
The seven nations said in a joint statement that they could not put their players "in a position where they could face sporting sanctions".
“I think the federations have to be stronger,” said former England and Manchester United captain Rio Ferdinand on the BBC.
“The organisations have to come at this together with a unified approach and say this is where we stand, this is where we go now.
“They’ve had one bump in the road and they’ve folded like a pack of cards.”
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