IRELAND FANS DESPERATE to get their hands on tickets to our crucial game against Wales in Cardiff next month have been urged not to buy from touts after reports of a number of fake tickets doing the rounds.

The FAI released a statement last week which said that over 9,000 people had applied for tickets and just 3,500 had been allocated to travelling fans – meaning this match is by far the most in demand of the campaign.

It said that “application inspections” were ongoing and that FAI staff were conducting an “extensive process of cross-checking attendance records of each person who has applied for tickets so that regular attendees at away fixtures are catered for along with the Football Family, Supporters Clubs and Fans’ Direct”.

Fans will find out by close of business today whether their applications have been successful, the FAI said.

Kieran McCabe, who is a seasoned traveller to away matches, said that there has been a number of people offering tickets despite the allocation not being handed out yet.

However, he does fear that he could be refused a ticket.

“We’ve been all over the world. We were only over in Tbilisi in Georgia a few weeks ago. We’re all desperate to get our hands on the tickets. Some lads who travel to all the games have been let down before, so hopefully that doesn’t happen. But there will be war if the lads don’t get sorted here.

“A few of the boys have been offered tickets by touts online claiming to be the real deal but there’s not a chance. The allocation hasn’t even finished and there’s been a rake of bogey tickets doing the rounds for a while. This isn’t the first time either. It happens often. We know as well that if we get tickets in the home end, we’ll be taken out.”

Ireland played Wales at the Aviva Stadium last year where a number of people were conned.

Bernadette Tuohy had bought tickets for her husband and two children only to find out that they were fakes.

“It looked entirely legitimate. We met him up in Dundrum shopping centre. He had made up this story that he couldn’t go anymore as he had to travel. Looked like a normal guy, nothing strange about him.

“But we knew we had been done when we walked up to the steward who scanned the tickets. He scanned the barcode and it just made this noise. We knew it wasn’t good news,” Tuohy told TheJournal.ie.

Despite opposition from some fan groups, the FAI said it will continue to use the allocation breakdown that has previously been in operation.

This means:

• 45% of tickets are distributed to supporters from affiliated football leagues
• 40% allocated to independent supporters who are members of Republic of Ireland Soccer Supporter Clubs and Fans’ Direct
• 15% provided to supporters travelling with the FAI’s official travel partner, Abbey Travel

The FAI was contacted for comment.

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