British firm faces legal action over World Cup tickets fiasco

The British company that printed the tickets for the World Cup faces legal action for distribution problems that have left large numbers of empty seats during matches.

The Korean World Cup organising committee (Kowoc) and at least one Japanese politician have threatened to take legal steps against Fifa, football's world governing body, and Byrom, the Manchester-based firm awarded the ticket-printing contract.

They are seeking compensation for the losses in ticket sales, estimated at more than half a million pounds for every match.

Rim Che Min, a Kowoc spokesman said yesterday: "Based on the outcome of the investigation ... Kowoc will consider various measures to be taken ... If necessary it may include a kind of legal action."

The day before, the governor of Miyagi prefecture in northern Japan said his local government might also sue. "As one of the host regions, we have a duty to denounce them harshly," said Shiro Asano. "We may also seek compensatory damage."

The visible gaps in the crowds of World Cup matches have caused anger in South Korea and Japan. On Sunday, Paraguay's game against South Africa in the South Korean city of Pusan had 21,500 empty seats out of 53,800.

The Japanese prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, ordered his sports minister, Atsuko Toyama, to investigate the ticketing fiasco after increasingly desperate meetings between Fifa, Byrom and the organising committees of the two host nations. The Japanese sports ministry wrote in a letter of protest to Fifa: "Considering that so many soccer fans and supporters in Japan eagerly sought World Cup tickets, it is very hard to accept this situation."

After attempts to sell tickets through the Fifa website failed when it became jammed with internet users, the Japanese organising committee (Jawoc) began selling unsold tickets on the phone yesterday. Korea is considering giving seats away free to schoolchildren.

Byrom plc is run by two Mexican brothers, Jaime and Enrique Byrom. The company insists the delays in delivering the tickets were caused by imperfections in the ticketing information submitted by Jawoc and Kowoc.