Fans hit hard as FAI appeal is thrown out

SOCCER:THE FAI have conceded defeat in its campaign to have Ireland's European Championship qualifying game against Andorra played in Barcelona on October 7th.

The association said last night in a statement that its appeal to the European body had been turned down despite its contention that such a decision would leave many Irish fans, who have already booked and paid for travel and accommodation, unable to get tickets for the game.

The number of fans affected by the decision is not yet clear but interest in the game had been very significant because of its potential importance and the attractiveness of Barcelona as a venue.

The number of supporters who have already confirmed some or all of their travel arrangements would appear to run into at least the hundreds. However, with Ireland still in contention for automatic qualification, the actual numbers that might have travelled had the game been in the stadium belonging either to Espanyol or Barcelona’s reserve team – where the two teams played the last time they met – was expected to swell to over 5,000.

As it is, the Estadi Comunal in the principality itself holds just 850 spectators and the FAI’s actual allocation of tickets would, in normal circumstances, only be expected to be something in the region of 100.

Supporters have already been seeking to make alternative arrangements with some apparently booking out a campsite adjacent to the ground, a portion of which has views of the pitch, in recent days. Others have sought to book hotel rooms overlooking the ground but the majority seem set to have to settle for watching the game in bars or the fan-zones that the FAI, which some supporters have been blaming on website forums for leading them to believe the game would be in Barcelona, have said it will try to help arrange.

“The decision goes against precedents set in the past when Uefa and Fifa granted permission for games against Andorra to be played in Barcelona, as lately as England’s Euro 2008 qualifier against Andorra which was played, with permission, in Barcelona,” an FAI official said while also criticising the short notice involved.

It is the second time during this campaign that there have been problems in relation to an away venue with the FAI previously announcing that the Slovakia game would be staged in Bratislava before the venue had been confirmed.

The game was eventually held in Zilina and a train organised to carry fans there from the capital with John Delaney buying drinks for those obliged to take it.