England fans were furious with the Football Association after an IT glitch allowed away tickets for the upcoming Italy game to be purchased before they were officially available – denying some paying members the chance to attend the match.
England Supporters Travel Club members pay a fee for perks which include early access to buy tickets for matches. An initial three-day window is open for the most loyal ESTC members to buy tickets before anyone else. The sale closes for 24 hours before a second window opens for the next tier of loyal members.
But during the sale of tickets for England’s Nations League trip to Milan next month, fans found they were able to continue purchasing them via a link when the website declared the sale closed.
The link and loophole information were shared hungrily by supporters – mainly on WhatsApp – but when the situation came to light fans unable to buy tickets in the second sale window were furious. It costs £75 for adult membership to the ESTC that lasts for a period of two tournaments.
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The email read: “We are emailing you to offer full transparency, and to assure you that we identified and closed this loophole. We will also take the appropriate steps to make certain this is not possible during future sales. We apologise for any stress or inconvenience caused.”
The FA insists that a minimal number of tickets were purchased via the loophole when they were on sale a few weeks ago and that the IT department will ensure this does not happen again.
One England fan told i: “Smart fans saved the website link from the first priority sale and throughout the Wednesday afternoon and evening noted that they and their friends in the membership who were not fortunate in getting tickets in the first priority window could buy a ticket after the supposed Wednesday lunchtime sale closed. That link and information was shared around.
“Fans who were not in the know on Thursday morning and early afternoon were furious they had missed out on this IT loophole and as a result felt that was the reason why they were not successful in getting one of the 600 remaining tickets on the Thursday.
“Fans vented fury on the England membership Facebook group at the FA’s poor IT skills and some even called for fans who purchased tickets early to have their tickets rescinded and placed back on sale to fans – for a fairer sale of the remaining tickets.
“Successful fans after the supposed sale window time and fans successful in the first priority window were not happy at that idea and the idea of taking tickets off fans for being proactive did not go down well. Some heated debated ensued.”
It is claimed that this is not the first time an IT failure led to away tickets being bought in a similar fashion. “Similar IT issues occurred for Andorra tickets in 2021 and fans got tickets when they did not expect access – but the FA closed the loophole much quicker,” the England fan said.
He added: “A few disgruntled ticketless fans remain but the IT savvy/well connected fans keep their tickets and look forward to a few days in Milan during Fashion Week when England aim to avenge their Euro 2020 final defeat in preparation for the Qatar World Cup.”
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