JOHANNESBURG — Stewards hired to work during a Confederations Cup match in Pretoria failed to show up because of a pay dispute with their employer, leaving police to check tickets at the turnstiles.

The local organizing committee for the eight-team, 16-match tournament in South Africa hired a company to provide stewards for matches, but the dispute forced police to help out on Monday, said Rick Mkhondo, the 2010 World Cup organizing committee spokesman.

"Yesterday, there was an employer-employee disagreement over payment, and therefore the stewards were relieved of their duties, and the people who were working there were volunteers and the police," Mkhondo said Tuesday. "This is the trend that we're going to follow."

Mkhondo would not comment on the dispute, and distanced himself from the company hired to perform the duties.

"We procure a company. The company procures the stewards," Mkhondo said. "Therefore, we leave it as a matter between employer and employee."

Mkhondo also said the organizing committee had met with police earlier in the week to discuss this issue.

"We decided that most of the functions, they will also be able to perform," Mkhondo said of the police working at stadiums. "Do not be surprised when the police work closely, hand-in-hand, with the stewards and the volunteers."

The next match in Pretoria is scheduled for Thursday, when five-time world champion Brazil will face the United States. In Monday's matches, Italy rallied to beat the Americans 3-1 in Pretoria and Brazil scored a late penalty to defeat Egypt 4-3 in Bloemfontein.

Security, along with transportation, is one of the biggest issues facing South Africa as it prepares to host next year's World Cup.

Besides the problem outside the stadium, the second day of the Confederations Cup was again highlighted by thousands of empty seats inside.

FIFA, however, said it was working with the local organizing committee to bring in more fans.

"We are working ... with the organizing committee to try really to get more people, higher attendances," FIFA spokesman Nicolas Maingot said, stopping short of saying that tickets will be given to those who can't afford them.

"Concrete measures will not be communicated at this stage," he said.

The opening match of the tournament drew nearly 50,000 people to Ellis Park in Johannesburg, but Sunday's second game in Rustenburg was half-empty. On Monday, the matches in Bloemfontein and Pretoria again had many seats unfilled.

Maingot, however, pointed out that the average attendance through four matches was 33,170, which is close to the average numbers achieved in the last three Confederations Cup tournaments in Germany, France and South Korea-Japan.