World Cup organisers promise better queues for Scotland v Morocco

World Cup organisers have pledged improved crowd control and queuing for Scotland's match against Morocco on Wednesday, following complaints from fans about long waits and overcrowding at Boston Stadium during Scotland's previous fixture against Haiti.

The Tartan Army had called for changes at the 64,000-seater venue after thousands of supporters were stuck in line waiting for trains and to clear security gates. Some fans told the BBC there was potential for a crush outside the stadium and reported barriers being toppled by the mass of fans.

FIFA acknowledges issues

FIFA acknowledged that queues were "longer than optimal" at the venue, but said adjustments had been made after observing crowd patterns. BBC Scotland News understands that Police Scotland, which has four liaison officers with fans in the US, provided feedback to organisers after the match.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) said lessons had been learned, with signage and routing now improved for fans travelling by rail. Nearly 20,000 passengers bought train tickets last week, but many complained of long station queues and lack of air conditioning on packed trains.

Adjustments implemented

Boston 26, FIFA's host committee in the city, said a "number of minor adjustments" had been made to improve crowd movement around Boston Stadium. A spokesperson said: "As is common at major international sporting events, operational procedures are continually adjusted throughout a tournament. While a small number of supporters experienced wait times that were longer than optimal, the stadium was at capacity by kick-off, with the vast majority of supporters in their seats for the start of the match."

They said the measures were put in place in time for Wednesday's Norway v Iraq match at the same stadium, which saw a "smooth entry operation".

Transport challenges persist

Boston Stadium — rebranded from Gillette Stadium for the World Cup — is in the town of Foxborough, about 30 miles from central Boston. It is usually home to the New England Patriots NFL team, with a 20,000-space car park for US fans who typically drive to matches. However, parking has been reduced to 5,000 spaces for the World Cup with new fan zones outside the venue. Visitors have been encouraged to use special trains and buses to attend matches.

On Saturday, fans told of waits up to two hours to board trains back to Boston after the match. The last service arrived in the city at about 02:30. An MBTA spokesperson said they had moved "an unprecedented number of riders" to and from the stadium. "We, and our partners, are continually incorporating lessons learned into preparations for upcoming matches," they added. "We always appreciate the feedback received from ridership and fans."

Norway v Iraq fans experienced shorter queues at Wednesday's match, though passenger numbers were much smaller. MBTA carried 10,700 fans on Wednesday, about 9,000 fewer than for the Scotland v Haiti match. An earlier kick-off time also saw many people remain at Boston Stadium's fan zone to watch a later match on screen, avoiding the big queues for return trains.

However, MBTA advised that more than 16,000 train tickets have already been sold for the Scotland v Morocco match, with another sell-out expected.

Fan accounts

Police Scotland said the role of officers at the tournament was "to act as a liaison for travelling fans" and support event organisers with safety advice. Earlier this week, several fans contacted BBC News about their long waits to enter the stadium, despite arriving hours before kick-off. They reported slow "airport style" security checks before the capacity crowd was funnelled through three gates.

Alan McCloskey from West Lothian said it was a "brilliant day spoiled by the lack of transport co-ordination". He said: "Plenty of stewards, but no idea how to deal with a big football crowd. Lucky no one took ill or got crushed." Alison Stewart said her train was "absolutely suffocating" without air-con during a heatwave in Boston.