The German government said on Monday that a lack of information about the identity of VIP ticket holders had opened an avenue for black-market trading in some of the best seats for the World Cup.
Organizers insist fans will only be allowed into games with a ticket that bears their name and ID card or passport number. The measure, recommended by the EU, is designed to exclude hooligans and curb ticket touting.
But an official said on Monday that the holders of some tickets sold to companies or given to sponsors for VIP guests had yet to supply the information -- and admitted it was too late to fix the problem.
"We are in talks with the other responsible parties in search of possibilities to bring down as far as possible the proportion of tickets that can't be personalized before the various games," Interior Ministry spokesman Stefan Kaller said.
Kaller said "less than 1 million" of the 3 million tickets for the June 9 to July 9 tournament were potentially affected.
Organizers are allowing fans to sell back tickets or change the name printed on them for a fee. They plan spot checks at stadiums to deter anyone from buying tickets from touts.
Kaller said security could be tightened to prevent known troublemakers from using anonymous VIP tickets to gain entry. All "legal" ticket holders will get in, he said.
Kaller forecast that the number of VIP tickets which would be traded illegally, for instance via Internet auction houses, would be limited because they are among the most expensive.
"The prices we are talking about don't suggest it's a mass phenomenon, though some people, in certain conditions, are ready to pay extremely high prices for already very expensive tickets," he said.
Official seat prices for regular fans at Berlin's Olympic Stadium range from 35 euros (US$45) for a first-round match to 600 euros (US$764) for the final.
The World Cup Organizing Committee said personalizing all tickets remained "fundamental" to its security concept.
Big batches of tickets sent to German regional soccer associations and sponsors carried their name, committee vice president Horst Schmidt said.
Those organizations were supplying details of the individuals who received them.
Schmidt said the same rules applied to 285,000 tickets included in "hospitality packages" offered by iSE Hospitality AG, a Swiss agency contracted to FIFA.
However, it acknowledged that it was struggling to comply.
The German Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily speculated that the companies' reluctance was due to concern that the names of those receiving free tickets might reach tax authorities or even prosecutors.
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