Fifa has played down reports that ticketless England supporters breached security at the World Cup opener against Croatia in Dallas. An unspecified number of fans allegedly entered the stadium without tickets, despite a large security operation including snipers and specialised police resources.
Witnesses described gaps at ticket barriers where people strolled through, volunteers failing to stop anyone, and turnstiles easy to jump over. One fan told the Daily Mail: “There were big gaps at the side of the ticket barriers and people just strolled through.” Another told the Times: “The turnstile itself was quite easy to jump over. Quite a few managed to jib in.”
A Fifa spokesperson said: “At this stage, we have no indication of fans entering the stadium without a valid match ticket for the game in question.” However, some England fans also faced issues with flags being removed from certain areas by stewards, who threatened confiscation. One fan, Dan from London, said: “For the amount of money we have paid it is a joke... It is another occasion where football fans are getting treated like cattle.”
