The sale of tickets for Scotland’s Euro 2024 group games has been halted after a Scottish FA blunder saw access codes sent to supporters who are not yet permitted to buy them.
There is a huge demand from fans who want to see the national team in action at next summer’s finals, with Steve Clarke’s side facing hosts Germany in the opening match before facing Switzerland and Hungary in the other Group A games.
Only 10,000 tickets are being allocated to each nation per game, prompting the Scottish FA to put in place a system to reward the most loyal of the Tartan Army.
Points are given to Scotland Supporters’ Club member for attending games, and the fans with the most points were to get priority access to the hard-to-get tickets, but a problem has seen the sale paused at the last minute.
Fans who had accumulated 12 points or more were to be sent access codes on Wednesday morning that would allow them to buy tickets for each game directly when UEFA’s purchasing platform opened at noon. Those with fewer points would then be offered an opportunity to buy remaining tickets at later dates.
However, supporters who had 11 loyalty points have been sent access codes in error, prompting the Scottish FA to hastily cancel the sale, saying that they will contact Supporters Club members when the issue has been resolved.
STV understands the governing body is hopeful that the issue can be resolved before the end of the day, with the most likely outcome being that existing codes are cancelled and new e-mails sent.
A message to fans read: “Due to a technical error, UEFA Euro 2024 codes have been sent out to Scotland Supporters Club members who are not eligible to buy tickets at this stage.
“As a result of this error, the sale scheduled for 12 noon will be delayed until further notice while we lisise with UEFA to resolve the issue.
“The Scottish FA would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to supporters at this time.
“We will communicate further information on the sales schedule as soon as it is available.”
A spokesman for Tartan Army supporters clubs branded the situation “a fiasco” and “a shamble”.
In a statement issued by the Association of Tartan Army clubs, Dave Harley wrote: “Today should have been a day of celebration for the Tartan Army getting their hands on a ticket for the upcoming Euros.
“The reality is that it has turned in to a shambles. A quick and workable solution needs to be found to allow excited and the most loyal fans to secure their tickets for next summer.
“We are extremely disappointed and concerned that there was no supporter consultation in advance of the ticket sale schedule and methodology. The opportunity was there. Additionally, we would have expected the SFA to have consulted with other participating nations in order to identify best practice. This was a serious failing.
“After attending Fan Embassy workshops in Hamburg last weekend, ATAC got a flavour of what other countries do to sell their tickets and we have been in discussions with the SFA’s Scotland Supporters Club since the beginning of this week to highlight these.
“Accountability for what caused this will come in due course, but the most important thing is to have this fixed and communicated as soon as possible.”
The national team will begin their campaign against the hosts in the opening game at Munich’s Allianz Arena on June 14.
That match will be followed with a clash with Switzerland in Cologne five days later.
The group stage campaign will conclude against Hungary at the MHP Arena in Stuttgart on June 23.
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