South Africa: Police use pepper spray as people buy World Cup tickets - 16/04/2010

Source : Radio New Zealand

South African police had to use pepper spray to stop scuffles and a 64-year-old man died in a queue as thousands of fans rushed to buy half a million Football World Cup tickets being sold over the counter for the first time.

Frustration built as people waited for a chance to get tickets, including some for the final, while computer crashes led to anger and frustration among fans.

Police say the man died after an apparent seizure.

Ticket sales in the country had been below expectations until recently with FIFA criticised for selling them in a complex system over the internet which was foreign to many poor black football fans used to getting tickets for cash on match days.