Thousands of seats are EMPTY at the start of Morocco’s World Cup quarter-final tie with Portugal

Thousands of seats are EMPTY at the start of Morocco’s World Cup quarter-final tie with Portugal as fans struggle to get in amid reports of ticketless supporters trying to get in in their place

By Julian Bovill For Mailonline

Saturday’s first quarter-final between Morocco and Portugal has been marred by seemingly thousands of supporters struggling to enter the ground. 

Thousands of empty seats were visible on television as the game kicked off, with ITV Sport commentator Jon Champion suggesting there was not a ‘mad rush’ for supporters late in to get to their seats. 

Qatar 2022 has experienced some struggles in selling out the stadiums, which were all purpose built for the tournament. Though Morocco are the best supported team remaining in the tournament and their matches have been marked by full stadiums and a raucous atmosphere seldom seen elsewhere.

The game began with countless empty seats with reports of supporters struggling to enter the ground

Reports of supporters struggling to get in were circulated, as it was suggested that trouble had started with ticketless fans trying to get in in their place. 

Reporters outside the ground said supporters had told them the empty seats were owing to ‘extra layers of security’ as they entered the ground. 

Other reports said traffic was to blame. The ground did fill as expected with no reports of any serious incident. 

Others suggested that ticketless supporters had blocked the path for those with tickets from entering the ground. It was reported riot police were then deployed to try and rectify the issues. 

Blocks of empty seats could be spotted all over the ground after the game was underway

Reports from outside the ground suggested issues had been caused by ticketless supporters

Another figure inside the ground appeared to suggest FIFA were a ‘disgrace’ for starting the game on time, with the ground reportedly only 25 per cent full at kick-off. 

‘Extraordinary that North Africa’s biggest football match ever is about to start in a 25 per cent full stadium as thousands are outside trying to get in with heavy handed police/security and thousands of ticketless fans able to get right by the ground. A disgrace @FIFA,’ they tweeted. 

Almost 15 mins into game and there’s a lot of fans still trying to make their way in. Several saying layers of security to get in caused delays. The city is full of Morocco fans so this one feels very unlikely to be a lack of tickets sold issue. pic.twitter.com/f6BxbyvPhN

— Adam Crafton (@AdamCrafton_) December 10, 2022

Extraordinary that North Africas biggest football match ever is about to start in a 25% full stadium as thousands are outside trying to get in with heavy handed police/security and thousands of ticketless fans able to get right by the ground. A disgrace @FIFAcom pic.twitter.com/0MYM1FJy2o

— James Drury (@jamesd_27) December 10, 2022

As the game wore on, the ground became increasingly busier with Champion suggesting someone had ‘found the keys to another couple of gates’. 

The start of the tournament was marked by ticket problems with FIFA’s app. They released a statement after some supporters failed to get in to England-Iran on time.   

It read: ‘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. 

The ground slowly filled up as the game advanced – with Morocco fans decking out the stadium in blocks of red

‘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.’ 

Spain’s last-16 loss to quarter-finalists Morocco was also marred by some trouble, with fans of the Arab country clashing with riot police outside the ground. 

The empty seat debacle at Saturday afternoon’s quarter-final comes after Sportsmail revealed there were still tickets available for England’s clash with France in the evening.

As of Friday morning, supporters could still buy tickets for what many consider the tie of the round. Though they would have to shell out some £7,500 for the privilege.  

All general admission tickets for the mouth-watering clash against the world champions at the Al Bayt Stadium, which were priced between £90 and £150, have sold out, although some hospitality packages remain available.

England fans could still buy tickets for Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final at £7,500 as of Friday morning

Hospitality tickets are not available through the official World Cup ticket portal and those seeking to buy them must make a separate enquiry to FIFA.

Initial reports naturally instigated fears that a situation could develop similar to that which marred this year’s Champions League final. 

UEFA’s showpiece game saw its kick-off time delayed by over half an hour as Liverpool supporters struggled to enter the ground amid heavy-handed tactics from the French police, with them using tear gas and batons on innocent supporters. 

The European governing body issued ‘sincere apologies’ to those impacted by the violence and other distressing scenes that they saw upon trying to enter the ground at the end of May. They had initially put up a statement on the Stade de France’s big screens blaming ticketless supporters for trying to enter for the trouble. 

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