SÃO PAULO, Brazil — Brazilian police used tear gas and smoke grenades to break up clashes among fans trying to buy tickets for the inaugural match of the 2014 World Cup.
Thousands of soccer fans had lined up overnight at a ticket office at the Arena Fonte Nova in they northeastern city of Salvador, but fighting broke out as soon as it opened and got out of control when organizers started running out of tickets Friday.
Police had to use tear gas and smoke grenades when some of the fans tried to break through the stadium's gates to get inside. While people had lined up, most of the 40,000 tickets for the game between rivals Bahia and Vitória had already sold online.
The Arena Fonte Nova stadium cost $330 million — about $50 million over budget.
Nobody was arrested during the clashes, but the company in charge of the new stadium said it would work on the problems that became apparent on Friday.
Witnesses said there were no barriers separating ticket booth lines.
Earlier Friday, a worker died after a fall at another World Cup venue.
Raimundo Nonato Lima Costa, 49, was working on the Arena da Amazônia when he fell from a height of about 5 meters (16 feet).