WALES FANS ‘OUTRAGED’ OVER WORLD CUP TICKET ALLOWANCE
WALES fans have been left “outraged” after they were told they would receive just 3,300 tickets for their World Cup qualifier game against the Republic of Ireland.
Chris Colemen’s men will face the men in green on March 24 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin and it was expected they would receive the usual 10% ticket allocation for away fans.
Although it has not yet been officially confirmed, Wales’ fan groups have been led to believe that the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) will only be offering 6.5%.
Vince Alm, leader of the Cardiff City Supporters Club, said: “We’re outraged really. We haven’t had that officially but that’s what is being said.
“We’re really disappointed. We’re normally offered 10% on a reciprocal basis.”
Mr Alm believes the Wales’ fans are being penalised for the size of the Cardiff City Stadium, which has a capacity of 33,280 compared to the Aviva Stadium’s 51,700 capacity.
He added: “The gentlemen’s agreement has always been 10%.
“We want to play at our home stadium, which is the Cardiff City Stadium.
“It’s not as big as the Aviva but that’s where we’re at and they should respect that.
“Wales should be playing in a smaller stadium because the Principality Stadium is too big for us.
“A proper football ground is the Cardiff City Stadium and it’s no coincidence we’re playing better there.”
Mr Alm said if the FAI go through with the reduced allocation when they announce the split next week, the Football Association of Wales (FAW) should follow suit.
He said: “If they do this we should do the same thing as them and cut their allocation to 6%. It should be a tit for tat basis.
“I am hoping they see common sense before making the announcement because there will be twice as many Wales fans outside the stadium than in at the moment. We don’t want to make it worse.”
The FAW and FAI have been approached for comment.