Boro fans clamber to buy prized tickets for Wembley

THE Wembley bug has already bitten deep on Teesside, with Middlesbrough fans snapping up 17,000 Championship playoff tickets in just four hours yesterday morning – forcing the club to suspend sales.

Boro have been allocated 38,000 seats in the west side of the stadium for the eagerlyawaited clash against Norwich City next Monday, May 25, with the demand for tickets such that sales were halted at 1.30pm yesterday lunch-time.

The remaining allocation will go on sale this morning when season ticket holders will have a three-hour window before sales will be opened up to the general public.

A club statement said: “Ticket sales to Boro fans for the Championship Play-Off final have now been suspended.

“We sold almost 17,000 tickets in four hours on Monday morning and all tickets currently available have now been sold.

“A number have been held as a contingency for season card holders who have yet to buy.”

Meanwhile, Boro legend Juninho has sent his former club a message of support in their quest to return to the Premier League, with the Brazilian still revered on Teesside for his feats at the Riverside – where he spent three different spells.

In a video posted on his Facebook page, he said: ‘Congratulations everyone for the last game. What a game! I’m so happy and one more game for Middlesbrough to be back to the place it belongs.

‘So I wish everyone good luck...to the players, club staff... Karanka is doing a great job, and I’m sure next Monday we will be back in the Premier League.’

Former Boro chief Bryan Robson first brought Juninho to the Riverside from Sao Paulo in October 1995 for £4.75m, but despite being a huge success on Teesside, he was unable to prevent relegation in 1997.

Norwich chief executive David McNally says a Wembley final is a reward for the support of the Canaries fanbase, with the club expecting to comfortably sell out their near 39,000 allocation.

McNally commented: “This is a huge occasion. For (owners) Delia (Smith) and Michael (Wynn-Jones), and for the supporters more than anybody else, we’re delighted that they’ve got a great day out at Wembley.

“In League One we had crowds of 25,000 – they have backed this club when this club needed it most. So of all football clubs, Norwich City supporters deserve their day.”