Clubs voice anger at Irish Cup ticketing plans

Linfield will face Lurgan Celtic at Windsor Park on Friday night, April 1, with Crusaders meeting Glenavon at the same stadium the following day.

Supporters have voiced their anger at the pricing of tickets – £15 for adults and £8 concession.

The four participating clubs have also only been allocated 500 tickets each to sell, with the rest being made available via Ticketmaster.

Glenavon chairman Adrian Teer admitted the 500 allocation was only granted following lobbying from the four semi-finalists.

“Originally all the tickets were to be sold by Ticketmaster,” Teer said.

The Lurgan Blues chief added: “I thought it is better to try and encourage more supporters to the game and make it a gala day, you don’t do that by selling tickets in this way.”

In a statement posted on their official website, Linfield said they were “greatly concerned” about the ticketing arrangements.

The Blues have called for an increased allocation to be made available for sale through the club’s own sources.

The club’s statement added: “The IFA personnel were left in no doubt about the depth of feeling on this issue and they agreed to give the matter further consideration.”