Fans' fury at ticket rationing
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.ENGLAND'S World Cup euphoria was tempered yesterday after it was revealed that only 2,049 tickets had been allocated to supporters for the knock-out match against Argentina on Tuesday.
The allocation will be England's smallest yet of the World Cup and will mean the vast majority of supporters who want to see the game in St Etienne will again have to deal with ticket touts - who were asking up to pounds 700 a ticket for England's 2-0 victory on Friday against Colombia.
Last night the Football Association said it was negotiating with Fifa, the game's governing body, to increase the allocation, but admitted that, even if Fifa made a concession, the increase would not be that big.
The bulk of tickets will go to the French market under a controversial plan which has seen 60 per cent of tickets for all matches sold to residents of the host country.
The FA believes that, because the competition has reached the knock- out stage, demand for Tuesday night's game may be even greater than so far experienced. The FA's security advisor, Sir Brian Hayes, said: "There is no doubt that the distribution of tickets has been a failure - it has broken down completely."
Alison Tillings, spokeswoman for the Football Supporters Association, said: "The whole ticket distribution system has worked against ordinary fans."
It emerged yesterday that an English supporter, Roy Chapman, 38, from Essex, was killed after being hit by a car in Calais on Friday night walking to the ferry.
Meanwhile, British embassy officials said that 74 England supporters were detained on Friday - most for drunk behaviour- but that only 16 were still in custody.
One English fan had been sentenced to two months in jail for an assault on a policeman.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments