A large number of empty seats were seen during Netherlands’ win over Senegal (AMA/Getty)
Qatar and FIFA are under fresh scrutiny after thousands of empty seats were seen in Monday’s World Cup matches.
There is also bemusement at the official attendance figures every game so far has a record which is higher than the capacity of the stadium.
For Qatar’s tournament curtain-raiser against Ecuador on Sunday, an official attendance of 67,372 was announced, despite the Al Bayt Stadium having a capacity of 60,000, while a significant number of empty seats were also evident from the half-time break.
It was the same for England’s World Cup opener against Iran, which saw Three Lions supporters left stuck outside the Khalifa International Stadium due to an error with FIFA’s ticketing app.
An attendance figure for that match was announced at 45,334, despite the stadium’s official capacity being 40,000.
Ticketing issues led to empty seats for England’s World Cup opener against Iran (Getty)
The Al Bayt Stadium was full of empty seats during Qatar’s defeat to Ecuador (Reuters)
WORLD CUP 2022 ATTENDANCE FIGURES
Qatar 0-2 Ecuador: 67,372 (Official capacity: 60,000)
England 6-2 Iran: 45,334 (Official capacity: 40,000)
Senegal 0-2 Netherlands: 41,721 (Official capacity: 40,000)
USA 1-1 Wales: 43,418 (Official capacity: 40,000)
Meanwhile, swathes of empty seats could be seen at the Al Thumama Stadium in the second game of the day on Monday as Netherlands beat Senegal.
World Cup 2022: your FAQs answered
World Cup 2022: Start date, schedule, teams, kick-off times and TV
How can England get to the 2022 World Cup final? Best and worst routes
Where to buy England home and away World Cup kits and how much they cost
Who are the BBC and ITV World Cup 2022 presenters and pundits?
When does the Premier League resume after the World Cup?
Read the latest World Cup news on Metro.co.uk’s dedicated page.
An official attendance of 41,721 was announced even though the stadium has an official capacity of 40,000.
Netherlands’ win over Senegal did not look even remotely close to capacity (Reuters)
Empty seats were dotted all around the stadium as Netherlands beat Senegal (Reuters)
More: Sport
FIFA claims that the Al Thumama Stadium in ‘event mode’ raises its capacity to 44,400, but a reason for the thousands of empty seats around the venue was not given.
For Wales’ 1-1 draw with USA, an attendance figure of 43,418 was given, but once again, the stadium’s official capacity is 40,000.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
A clear discrepancy can be seen.
