A group of Irish fans have called on the FAI to communicate with fans about the ticketing arrangements for the away leg of the Euro 2016 play off.
Members of YouBoysInGreen.ie released a statement last night in the hope that the ticketing situation that was seen in Glasgow last year for the Euro 2016 qualifier against Scotland will not be repeated.
Martin O'Neill's side will be drawn against one of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Sweden and Ukraine with the games taking place between November 12th and 17th. YBIG have stated that:
"Based on the home stadiums of the potential opponents, under current UEFA allocations of 5% for away support, the FAI would receive the following allocations:
Bosnia: approx 750 tickets
Hungary: approx 1,100 tickets
Sweden: approx 2,500 tickets
Ukraine: approx 3,500 tickets
Given the number of supporters traveling to away games on a regular basis, it would appear that ticket applications for Bosnia and Hungary may significantly exceed the allocation, and even a game against Sweden could be oversubscribed, given the ease of getting to Stockholm. The recent victory over the world champions Germany has also boosted interest in the side."
They hope to liaise with the FAI in the coming weeks about the ticket allocation and would like to see a scheme implemented to streamline the ticketing issues.
"Fans have already expressed concerns on the YBIG forums at the lack of progress surrounding the Fans Direct scheme which was supposed to address these issues. Aside from minimal contact via email, it is unclear if many of the promises of the scheme will be fulfilled.
Given the high-profile issues surrounding ticketing in the campaign to date, we call on the FAI to engage with stakeholders early and provide a breakdown on the allocation of tickets across groups such as Fans Direct, Supporters Clubs, Leagues and Associations."
"The FAI promised that the issues noted prior to the Scotland game would not re-occur and early engagement on this matter will help to build confidence around the new Fans Direct initiative."
Ireland will know their play off fate on Sunday morning when the draw take place in Switzerland.
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