Police quell scuffles in World Cup tickets rush

SOUTH AFRICAN police used pepper spray to stop scuffles and a pensioner died in a queue as thousands of fans rushed to buy 500,000 World Cup tickets being sold over the counter for the first time yesterday.

Queues began on Wednesday afternoon and frustration built as people inched forwards for a chance to get tickets, including some for the final on July 11. Computer crashes tested the patience of crowds at some centres and tempers flared.

“Police were called in,’’ said Eugene Opperman, South African Police Services spokesman in Gauteng of an incident at Brooklyn Mall in Pretoria where local radio reported that pepper spray was used to restore order.

“There was pushing and shoving among the people and it was decided police should go there for crowd control.”.

In Sandton, north of Johannesburg, angry South Africans argued with police who used a vehicle to disperse the crowd.

A 64-year-old man suffered an apparent seizure as he waited in a queue in Cape Town, police said.

FIFA said in a statement that 1,610 tickets were sold at ticketing centres within an hour of counters opening while another 2,166 were bought at banks. World soccer’s governing body acknowledged the huge demand had resulted in delays in issuing tickets.

Some banks were not able to process applications when systems crashed, leading to anger and frustration among fans.

However, FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said: “We said from day one when South Africa won the rights to win the FIFA World Cup that we can’t have empty seats.

“I’m very happy with the progress that has been made in the last four ticketing phases. What is important now is to sell the remaining tickets.

“This is the first FIFA World Cup in Africa. This is Africa’s first opportunity to show the rest of the world that it’s also capable of successfully hosting events of this magnitude.

“In a country where less than half of the population has access to internet, the over-the-counter sales have come as a welcomed innovation.”

Around 120,000 of the tickets are available to South Africans for $20, the lowest price at a World Cup for many years.

Ticket sales in the country had been below expectations until recently and FIFA was criticised for selling them in a complex system over the internet which was alien to poor black soccer fans accustomed to getting tickets for cash on match days.

Officials acknowledged mistakes had been made and launched a new system of sales through ticketing offices and supermarkets yesterday, hoping to sell out the tournament after disappointing overseas sales and returned tickets.

FIFA had previously said the final was sold out but on Wednesday announced another 300 tickets would be released for the biggest match in world football.

Tickets are much higher than normal prices for top-level football in South Africa.

Even the special cheap tickets are more than five times the cost of normal top-class games, with costs escalating drastically in higher categories for better seats and after the first-round group phase.

Demand in South Africa had initially been sluggish but the most recent phase saw locals snap up 85% of the 240,000 tickets sold between February and the beginning of this month.

FIFA said last week 2.2 million tickets had been sold for the tournament which kicks off on June 11.