FIFA says it is unaware at this stage of any fans getting into England’s opening World Cup match against Croatia without tickets.
Reports, citing eyewitnesses at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, said scores of fans had breached security and entered the venue without any sort of check.
One witness told Mail Sport: “There were big gaps at the side of the ticket barriers and people just strolled through. There were volunteers who were basically old ladies and they weren’t stopping anyone.”
A spokesperson for FIFA said: “At this stage, we have no indication of fans entering the stadium without a valid match ticket for the game in question.”
The official attendance announced for the game was 70,389, just under the 70,649 official capacity confirmed pre-tournament by FIFA.
The price of tickets for the tournament has been one of the key talking points in the build-up.
The cheapest tickets sold through England’s supporter travel scheme were initially £198 ($375) for the Croatia game but, after a fan backlash, FIFA pledged to make 10% of tickets per match within this allocation available for $60.
