Northern Ireland fans furious over Euro ticket farce

Gary McAllister, who has compiled 27 of the required 29 loyalty points, said he had failed in his application for a ticket for Northern Ireland’s opening group fixture against Poland in Nice.

Gary, who was one of the Northern Ireland fans who travelled to the far-flung qualifier to the Faroe Islands, said his case had been repeated many times over.

“This is not just about me,” said Gary. “All I can say is that football raises people’s passions and emotions. For Northern Ireland to qualify is a massive achievement, and I know people who have broken the bank to get to France. I know of people who can only get to one game and now have been told they don’t have a ticket. There are people who have been attending internationals for years and followed Northern Ireland all over Europe.

“The ball is at the foot of UEFA, they are the people who it appears have not implemented the scheme properly.”

The inconsistency of the application system has been widely criticised.

One caller to BBC Talkback said he knew of friends who had accrued no loyalty points but were still successful with an application for tickets for all three group matches.

A News Letter reader added: “At least five of my friends got two tickets for all the games, plus options for the last 16, despite not being a block booker or going to any qualifiers or an away match in years.”