Whodunit: Mystery of the missing spectators

The latest example was the banks of empty seats at China’s first ever game at the World Cup against Costa Rica in Kwangju, South Korea on Tuesday.

Korean World Cup organisers (KOWOC) said the Seoul government had expressed “deep concern” about the issue, adding that legal action was also being considered because of the problems. The directive for Japanese Sports Minister Atsuko Toyama came at a cabinet meeting, where irate ministers voiced outrage over the foul-ups that have left blocks of seats empty in the first four days of action while Japanese fans failed to get tickets.

FIFA held a special meeting with Japanese organisers (JAWOC) on the issue on Monday and attempted to play down the problems. “Crisis? What crisis? The problem has not escalated into a crisis,” FIFA communications director Keith Cooper told a news conference. “I think to use the word crisis is exaggerated…The competition is going extremely well. Generally, we are very happy. (Reuters)