THOUSANDS OF TRAVELLING Irish supporters look set to be left empty-handed for the first leg of next month’s Euro 2012 play-off against Estonia.
Space will be at a premium on 11 November when Giovanni Trapattoni and the boys in green head to Tallinn’s A. Le Coq Arena, which holds just under 10,000 spectators.
The FAI confirmed this morning that almost 5,000 Irish fans have applied for tickets for the away leg, far more than the allocation of 1,400 tickets which it has received from the Estonian FA.
Under UEFA rules, the visiting side is only entitled to 10% of the stadium capacity, but the expected demand from Irish fans saw a few hundred extra tickets added to the FAI’s bundle.
These tickets will now be allocated via lottery, with preference given to fans who have attended some or all away matches during the group stages of the qualification campaign.
Applications for the lottery via the FAI’s online portal are now closed, and the FAI will contact those who have applied before 5.30pm tomorrow evening.
Estonia sold out their entire allocation of tickets within 30 minutes of them going on sale last Thursday, but have since begun to track down would-be profiteers who purchased huge quantities in the hope of selling them on the black market.
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