England fans almost missed out on getting into their first match of the World Cup after FIFA’s ticketing app reportedly broke just ahead of kick-off.
Thousands of supporters with tickets were left standing outside the Khalifa Stadium, where England face Iran in the Group B opener.
According to Mirror journalist Andy Lines, who is at the tournament, staff eventually let England fans in with ‘no ticket checks at all’.
Sharing a video of fans finally able to enter the ground, he wrote: "England fans just walking in now … no ticket checks at all.”
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In another post, he says one fan told him: “They have just let everyone through. There was a f**k up with the app and many people were stopped but they have now just opened the gates.”
Earlier today, fans had complained that their tickets had somehow disappeared from the app, while others said they had been unable to log-in after logging-out, the Mirror reports.
On Twitter, several fans posted a screenshot of the app, with a message that read: “There is no ticket associated with your email address.
“Please allow time for tickets to appear, you will receive them as soon as they are ready deliver to your app.
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“Make sure you have logged in with the same email address used to create your FIFA ticketing account. If this is not the case, please log out and sign in again with the correct email address.”
A team USA fan told the Mirror: "The FIFA app had everyone worried because our tickets disappeared completely.
"We tried calling FIFA and the automated system disconnected us."
She went on: "People with tickets to the 4pm match are being told to go to the stadium directly.”
One England fan criticised the tournament’s organisers to the Press Association and said the should have used ‘‘paper tickets’.
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Free Lions, the Football Supporters’ Association team that provides travel and logistical advice to fans, said on Twitter: “We’re aware of issues with some e-tickets at the stadium with FIFA’s ticketing app. The FA is working hard to find a resolution for England fans.
“If you have issues seeing your ticket on the app, join the ticketing resolution queue at the stadium, but keep checking the app.”
FIFA acknowledged some fans were experiencing issues accessing their tickets and said it was working on solving the issue.
It advised them to visit the stadium’s 'ticket resolution point' for support.
Claire Reid