India, June 13 -- FIFA, the world governing body of football, has strongly denied widespread claims that "thousands" of seats went unfilled during South Korea's thrilling 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic. The Group A clash at the Estadio Guadalajara was immediately embroiled in controversy, with television coverage and journalists on the ground showing huge areas of visible red seats around the arena.

FIFA, however, has defended its official attendance numbers, which say that 44,985 fans were squeezed into the 46,000-seat stadium. The international body issued an official media statement explaining that the optical illusion of empty stands was due to fan behaviour inside the venue and not a lack of actual ticket sales.

"Official atte...