There have been concerning scenes outside Doha's Education Stadium ahead of Morocco and Spain's round of 16 clash, with Qatari riot police and security filmed pushing a crowd of supporters alongside a chain-link fence.
It is unclear what caused the issues but a video posted on social media showed officials shouting "get back" as they moved fans away from an entrance to the stadium. Some supporters could be heard screaming, with images showing women and children caught up in the incident.
There were initial claims, made without firm evidence, that ticketless supporters had been attempting to get into the stadium. Later footage showed some fans with tickets being allowed through a checkpoint.
Television footage showed a number of empty seats in the more expensive areas of the stadium as the match kicked off, while an aerial shot broadcast just before the game began showed significant numbers still making their way towards the entrance.
Morocco have reached the knockout stage of the World Cup for the first time in their history and their supporters have travelled in huge numbers to a tournament that has seen an unprecedented number of empty seats with fans of many European nations not making the trip to the Gulf.
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)The tournament has passed off without any significant disorder - although Cameroon legend Samuel Eto'o was filmed appearing to kick a fan in the head outside of Stadium 974 after Brazil's demolition of South Korea on Monday evening.
One protestor, waving a rainbow flag and with a t-shirt supporting Ukraine, was arrested after invading the pitch during Portugal's group stage meeting against Uruguay.
Another fan did cartwheels on the pitch during Tunisia's shock win over a weakened France.
