Fans clash at Olympic match

A packed arena watched Greece narrowly lose to the US

Hugh Dougherty|Evening Standard|In Athens

14 April 2012

The Olympic ticketing crisis descended into farce when one of the few sold-out events was marred by a fight between fans over seating.

Greek supporters clashed with security staff outside the stadium where their basketball team was taking on the United States. Olympic security staff detained 19 people during a series of disputes over seat allocations.

The fans became angry as they queued to see the match which decided Greece's fate in the basketball tournament.

The match went on inside unaffected by the fracas, which was said to be low-key by Greek standards for a basketball match. The country has a problem-with hooliganism connected to the sport, with matches frequently disrupted as rival fans throw coins from the stands.

But the confrontation is the latest embarrassment to hit Olympic chiefs over ticketing.

It is the first time they have had to deal with angry fans at a sold-out venue - as virtually every other event has had plenty of empty seats.

Just over half of all tickets available to fans have been sold. And tens of thousands which were allocated to the Olympics' corporate sponsors have not been taken up, leaving massive gaps in the stands at even the most popular events.

Many of the empty seats were purchased by US firms but many Americans have proved reluctant to travel because of the fear of a terrorist attack.

The empty seats have overshadowed the rest of the Games with organisers now providing a daily league table of ticket sales. The latest figures showed that one event had sold only 15 per cent of its allocated tickets, meaning that a few hundred people were scattered around a 10,000-seater stadium.

Most have sold about half of the tickets, a sign that the Games have failed to capture the Greek public's imagination.

In tennis Venus Williams, Andy Roddick and Wimbledon champion Roger Federer have performed to half-empty stands.

Olympic bosses have insisted the lack of ticket sales will not cause a financial crisis.

But it is likely to cause future problems for the Games as TV companies, especially US broadcasters, will be unwilling to pay so much for the rights if viewers see stadiums which lack atmosphere.

Future bids, including London's, now face having to guarantee they will be able to sell enough tickets to give broadcasters the full stadiums they want to show on television.

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