FA blunder over Croatia game

The FA claim they stepped in for security reasons and that tickets sold through the tournament's official website might have ended up in the hands of hooligans - but given that several thousand tickets for the game have already been sold by the same method, that explanation is of little consolation to genuine fans.

England fan Daniel Martin, who has travelled to the last two World Cup Finals, said: 'I have been trying to buy tickets for months and went through all of the official UEFA channels, but I missed out.

'I've even been considering spending silly money on tickets through the black market - and then I discover that the FA are hoarding tickets that they know they won't be able to sell. It's disgusting. It'll make me sick to have to watch the game on TV and see empty seats when the FA could have put them on sale.'

However, an FA spokesman responded by saying: 'The main priority of the FA is to protect the interests of English football.

'Clearly we would prefer to sell the tickets to bona fide supporters through the Englandfans club, but if we cannot do so we are not prepared to put at risk the efforts made by the police, Home Office, Foreign Office and the Portuguese authorities to ensure security at these matches.'