Stadium was announced to be a full house but witnesses claim most had entered without tickets
Fifa has denied reports that England supporters without tickets were able to gain entry to their World Cup opener against Croatia.
This follows multiple accounts from some fans who claimed that security checks at Dallas Stadium were easily bypassed.
There were extensive security measures around the 70,000-capacity stadium in Arlington but witnesses reported that these had been breached. Several supporters told British news outlets that barriers and turnstiles were not properly monitored, allowing some fans to simply walk through entry points or jump over access gates without having their tickets properly checked.
Fans also criticised the staffing of security checkpoints. One fan described the situation as “ridiculous” and told the Daily Mail that “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. Loads just walked through while others just jumped over the top. There were huge gaps.”
The stadium was reported to be a full house during the game, with all 70,389 seats taken.
But Fifa has insisted there is currently no evidence that spectators had entered the stadium without valid tickets. A spokesperson for the world football governing body said: “At this stage, we have no indication of fans entering the stadium without a valid match ticket for the game in question.”
