FIFA blames empty World Cup seats on fans who left them to watch from the concourses [View all]

Source: Yahoo Sports

FIFA pushed back Friday on viral images of swaths of empty seats at Thursday's World Cup match in Guadalajara, Mexico, saying the official attendance figure was accurate and that "several ticketed fans could be seen standing in concourses rather than staying in their assigned seats throughout the match."

"Official attendance figures reflect the number of tickets scanned and spectators present within the stadium footprint, rather than visual assessments of seating occupancy at any given moment during the match," FIFA said in its statement.

Swaths of empty seats visible during Thursday's World Cup match between South Korea and the Czech Republic have raised questions over FIFA's approach to record ticket prices for the tournament.

Many of the empty seats appeared to be located in VIP sections near the pitch, according to the Athletic, which said there seemed to be thousands of unoccupied places throughout the stadium.

Ticket prices in the hospitality section were priced at around $5,000, while general admission tickets in the lower tier cost $500, the publication added.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/article/fifa-blames-empty-world-cup-seats-on-fans-who-left-them-to-watch-from-the-concourses-105442497.html

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No, it's not the prices or the Trump administration. It's fans!

Screw FIFA and screw the IOC with it. Different sides of the same worthless coin.