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As many as 2,000 footy fans found themselves locked out of the State of Origin decider in Brisbane on Wednesday night, after purchasing tickets through unauthorised sellers.
Lang Park general manager Alan Graham told ABC Radio Brisbane that scalped tickets were not generally permitted entry, but they worked closely with the NRL and made the call to allow ticket holders with seats that were still vacant into the game.
Other ticket holders were not permitted entry because their seats had been sold multiple times.
Mr Graham said it wasn't uncommon for people who have purchased tickets from scalpers to attend a big event, only to discover "their tickets are not legitimate".
"That someone's already come in on that ticket, that they’ve paid a big, big amount of money for a worthless ticket, so that all those things happen quite regularly," he said.
John Gomeasall was one of those stuck outside, having purchased his Origin game three entry online from The Ticket Merchant around two months ago.
Frontier Touring, a popular live music promoter, has previously warned customers against resale sites like Viagogo and The Ticket Merchant, noting these tickets could be "cancelled without notice".
Jack Taylor said he was waiting to get inside with tickets purchased by a friend from Viagogo.
When they scanned their tickets at the gate, it said they had been cancelled, he added.
"They just said all we could do was line up here at this box and wait and see," he said.
"It's a bit of a shame really, [we] bloody travelled a long way to come here... It's a bit of a kick in the guts, that's for sure."
In response to questions by the ABC, a spokesperson for The Ticket Merchant said as soon as it became aware of the issue, "our team worked tirelessly to provide replacement tickets to all affected customers".
"We encourage the venue and primary ticketing agencies to communicate any ticketing issues in future as early as possible."
Viagogo has been contacted for comment.
Mr Graham said up to 2,000 tickets to Wednesday night's event were believed to have been sold through scalpers.
He said he had not seen that many at an event at the stadium before, adding that ticket scalping was a "problem in the industry generally".
"People just ended up getting ripped off, and that's why we were always suggesting people only buy from the legitimate ticket agent," he said.
Another fan, Ash, told the ABC he forked out $5,000 through a site that "promised" legitimate tickets.
"Five grand for 10 tickets, and it's all fake … biggest rort ever," he said.
"It's mayhem … I look like an idiot."