The fans whose tickets were stolen will not get replacements

Sixteen hundred tickets were taken from a delivery van while the postman was delivering to Everton FC on Friday.

Millennium Stadium officials have said that duplicate tickets will not be issued and fans will miss out.

Councillor Berni Turner, from the council's executive, said the football authorities had a moral duty to fans.

We are not asking them to perform miracles, but it cannot be beyond their ability to sort this mess out Berni Turner, Liverpool City Council

Officials from Liverpool Football Club are talking to the Football Association in a bid to help the fans who have missed out.

The stolen tickets have been cancelled for the game against West Ham United.

Councillor Turner, who is responsible for Trading Standards, said: "Just because it will be difficult to replace these tickets does not mean that the FA and the Millennium Stadium just write off the dreams of 1,600 Liverpool supporters.

"The FA and the Millennium Stadium have had since last Friday to sort this out and have now got three days to resolve this issue.

"We are not asking them to perform miracles, but it cannot be beyond their ability to sort this mess out."

'Empty stadium'

She added: "Are they really saying that if all of the Liverpool allocation of tickets had been stolen or lost between the FA and Anfield that the stadium would have been half empty?"

The council's Trading Standards Manager Alan Auty said fans may be able to sue the FA due to a change brought about by European Union law.

"Whereas before the risk was the buyers, in consumer contracts it is now the seller who is liable for failure to deliver," he said.

He added: "However, this would be little consolation to fans who desperately want to see the final."

A Millennium Stadium spokeswoman said its position remained unchanged.