FA ‘disappointed’ after Matildas secure tickets in allocated England section

The FA has said it is “disappointed” after reports suggested that World Cup semi-final tickets allocated specifically for England fans were bought by Australia supporters.

A unique supporter code was reportedly leaked on social media ahead of the Lionesses’ crunch match with the Matildas on Wednesday – with a number of Australian fans claiming to have purchased tickets.

The additional 1,970 tickets were released at the weekend, and around 8,000 England fans are expected to be in attendance at the Accor Stadium in Sydney.

The Lionesses booked their place in the semi-finals following a 2-1 win against Colombia on Saturday.

Commenting on the ticket code leak, an FA spokesman said: “We worked with Fifa to secure an additional allocation of tickets for England’s World Cup semi-final against Australia.

“The details of how to purchase these tickets were communicated directly to our fans on our England Football channel, and we are disappointed to see reports that a limited number of these tickets have been accessed by other fans.

“We are working with Fifa to review this ticketing process going forward.”

Fifa has been contacted for comment.