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Ireland fans before the start of the Andorra game ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne
Euro 2012

Ireland fans could face ticket trouble in Slovakia

Confusion surrounds venue and availability of tickets for Slovakia qualifier.

IRELAND FANS TRAVELLING to the Euro 2012 qualifier in Slovakia could have trouble getting tickets as a dispute over the venue and ticket reservations intensifies.

The FAI and Slovakian Football Association (SFZ) are in dispute over whether the match will be held in the capital Bratislava or in Zilina. The FAI say that the SFZ agreed to hold the fixture in Bratislava, but the SFZ in turn have said that they never confirmed the match was taking place in Bratislava and have scheduled it for Zilina- a two hour drive from the airport in Bratislava or six hour round trip by train.

Tickets for the match are likely to be at a premium, after the FAI was allocated just 1,092 for the Group B qualifier. The FAI have requested more tickets and are also attempting to organise transport for fans from Bratislava to Zilina.

The SFZ, as reported on Slovakian football blog Britski Belasi, have held back 7,000 tickets for “private distribution” for a stadium with a capacity under 12,000.

Zilina has one of Slovakia’s best stadiums- the Stadium pod Dubnom- which belongs to the Champions League team MSK Zilina. Ticketing is a hot topic in Slovakia at the moment, after MSK announced a mark up of 550% for tickets to their Champions League match against Chelsea. MSK fans were vocal in their protests, saying that the average price for tickets was around €7 but the club were charging a minimum of €50 into the Chelsea match.

“We as loyal fans of Zilina, give our money not to see Chelsea, but to see our beloved Zilina, we go to every match, we are the ones who give €7 to support the team through every minor league game.  We travel many kilometres, we come from throughout Slovakia, and we were ecstatic to share the joy of Champions League qualification with the players.  Upon receiving the information about the ticket prices we realise that we as fans will only be able to watch from outside the stadium gate.”

Home fans have to reserve tickets online, where they sold out within days of going on sale. Rumour among Slovakian football fans is that only 3,000 tickets were made available to home fans.