Argentines are protesting...the cheapest ticket to the World Cup final is $4,000

On Friday, fans of the Argentine national team organized a protest outside a Doha hotel, to demand that their country's Football Association obtain tickets for the Qatar World Cup final against France on Sunday.


As excitement mounted ahead of the clash with the defending champions Sunday at Lusail Stadium, fans said the cheapest official ticket sold on the black market was more than $4,000.


Dozens of fans gathered outside the Doha Hotel, where the Argentine Football Association is based.


On Thursday evening, fraught conversations took place with officials outside the hotel and some fans carried signs reading "FA (Argentine Football Association) give us tickets", before the federation finally agreed to meet with a delegation of three fans.


Additional tickets were allocated to each country that qualified for the quarter-finals.


But as more fans from Argentina and France continue to arrive for the final, it has not been announced whether more tickets will be made available.


Lusail's iconic stadium holds around 88,900 people but it is said that more than 30,000 Argentines are in Qatar.

Many of them borrowed money to watch Lionel Messi's last attempt at winning the World Cup.


Ticket negotiations are taking place with many groups on WhatsApp.


Some Argentine fans showed AFP messages asking sellers for more than $4,000 for tickets to the final, which had a printed value of $750.


The most expensive tickets, which FIFA says are $5,850, are being sold for more than $14,000.


Roberto Pascore (53 years), who has been in Qatar since the start of the tournament, said that he bought tickets for every match for Argentina from unofficial sources. "Everyone who was selling outside the stadium has at least 15 to 20 tickets," he said.


Cynthia Ichanis, 51, said the protesters wanted to get the tickets at the official price.


"We don't want problems. What we want as Argentines is to have the chance to support Argentina again," she added.


The Argentine Federation did not comment on the availability of tickets.

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