FIFA forced to apologise over Women’s World Cup tickets blunder

Fifa have been forced to apologise after a series of tweets from their Twitter account caused confusion among supporters who had purchased tickets for the Women’s World Cup in France.

The governing body faced a backlash on Monday after fans who bought groups of tickets found they were not necessarily seated together.

A two-part message on the tournament’s official Twitter account then stressed that ticketing arrangements could not be changed, saying it had made clear at the time of purchase that “not all seats would be located next to each other.”

It added that “an exception could be made for parents whose seats are not next to the seats of their underage children”.

Disgruntled fans responded furiously, calling the situation “ridiculous” and demanding en masse that Fifa change the policy and they swiftly clarified the situation.

“The previous tweets regarding FIFA Women’s World Cup tickets allocation were published without a full understanding of the situation and we apologise for that,” a statement read. “The issues were faced by less than one per cent of fans requesting tickets for the semi finals and the final.

“Fifa and the Local Organising Committee are confident the problems will be solved and the fans will be able to enjoy the matches as they envisaged.”

The Football Association said the allocation issue did not apply to England fans who had bought tickets through the supporters’ club.

A spokesman said: “There is no issue with the tickets that we have sold directly to our fans via the Lionesses Supporters Club as we are managing the ticket allocation process and have ensured that all groups are seated together.”

England and Scotland have both qualified for the month-long showpiece and have been paired together in Group D. They play each other at the 35,000-capacity Allianz Riviera on June 9.