Fans whose tickets were stolen will not be given replacement tickets

The Liverpool fans' tickets for the game in Cardiff against West Ham United were stolen from a Royal Mail delivery van in Liverpool on Friday.

The stolen tickets have been cancelled and officials will not replace them.

A statement posted on the Millennium Stadium's website said it was sticking to its "no duplicate ticket policy".

Merseyside Police and stadium officials are warning fans not to buy tickets for Saturday's match at Cardiff from unauthorised sellers.

There is no other way of managing this situation Paul Sergeant, Millennium Stadium chief executive

The Millennium Stadium's Emergency Safety Advisory Group Meeting said fans arriving with the stolen tickets, which have been fully logged and traced by ticket office headquarters, will not be admitted to the ground.

The more than 1,600 seats at the sold-out match will be left empty and anyone sitting in them will be ejected by stadium officials.

The stadium holds 74,000 with Liverpool and West Ham allocated 24,436 tickets each for the game, with the rest going to the FA.

'Sympathy for fans'

Millennium Stadium chief executive Paul Sergeant said: "We have every sympathy for those football fans who have had their tickets stolen and have looked at all possibilities of re-seating these people, but after a meeting with our safety advisory group we are standing by our no duplicates policy."

"I'm sure all football fans will understand that we simply don't have spare seats for an FA Cup final and we cannot compromise on segregation or the safety of our employees - we're full!

"There is no other way of managing this situation."

Merseyside and South Wales Police are investigating and will have a strong match presence.