World Cup fans claim online ticket scam leaves them locked out of stadium

For thousands of football fans, attending a FIFA World Cup match is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But for some supporters in Atlanta, that dream turned into frustration after tickets purchased online failed to grant them entry to the stadium.

More than a dozen fans were left outside as the match between Spain and Cape Verde got underway, despite having paid hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of dollars for tickets bought through online resale platforms including StubHub and SeatGeek.

Among them was Surenere Paudel, who spent more than 1,400 dollars on tickets for his wife and two daughters.

"Yeah, I got that ticket almost six months ago. I go on the website and work on FIFA when they release and they direct me on the StubHub website and I got a ticket and then they sent me a seat number and everything and then after I tried to reach out for a barcode and I could not get it."

Fans say they received seat assignments and match details but never obtained the barcode needed to enter the stadium.

Gyan Paudel, Surenere's daughter, said many supporters appeared to be facing the same problem.

"There's a lot of people and like everyone's complaining in the same thing. It's like they're putting in like a random email for you and then nobody can log in to their app or whatever to access their tickets and the barcode isn't showing up."

Others, like Bina Ramroop, said they were devastated after being turned away despite purchasing tickets as special gifts for loved ones.

As fans sought answers from customer service lines, many were left watching the match begin without them, raising fresh concerns about the risks of buying World Cup tickets through third-party resale websites.