Northern Ireland

GAA 'heartened' by response after cancelling Tyrone v Dublin tickets being sold above face value

Dublin and Tyrone met in the Allianz League earlier this year, and fans are being offered tickets for their All-Ireland semi-final clash at prices of more than €200. Picture by Philip Walsh
Dublin and Tyrone met in the Allianz League earlier this year, and fans are being offered tickets for their All-Ireland semi-final clash at prices of more than €200. Picture by Philip Walsh Dublin and Tyrone met in the Allianz League earlier this year, and fans are being offered tickets for their All-Ireland semi-final clash at prices of more than €200. Picture by Philip Walsh

THE GAA has said it has been heartened by the response from fans after it moved to cancel some tickets being sold for inflated prices for the All-Ireland semi-final between Tyrone and Dublin.

A spokesman said it has removed tickets numbering "in the double figures" so far.

Anyone who has bought tickets through unofficial sources has "taken a risk" and will not be covered by the association for any losses.

GAA rules state that it is "prohibited to sell, advertise or offer to sell" a ticket to "any person at a price in excess of face value".

Tickets sold through the GAA for the hotly-anticipated August 27 clash were snapped up within five minutes of being released on Wednesday.

They were priced at €45 for a seat and €30 standing, but within hours some were being offered online for more than €200 each.

The cancellations means barcodes on the tickets will not scan at the Croke Park turnstiles.

The GAA has also warned that long-term and premium ticket holders caught reselling tickets with a mark-up will be banned from purchasing in future.

"We have been very heartened by the overwhelming response from fans. The price of the ticket is set by the GAA," a spokesman said.

"There is a spirit of good faith here. Genuine GAA people know that is not what we are about, this is unacceptable behaviour."

He added: "It is highly likely that there will be a batch of tickets available in the latter half of next week, once applications from Dublin and Tyrone clubs have come back."

Sinn Féin West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff said he welcomed the GAA's action.

"I take my hat off to the genuine supporters and I think that priority should be given to those who support their county team on the cold winter afternoons in January," he said.

"There are tens of thousands of genuine Tyrone supporters who are trying to get their hands on a ticket and any action that the GAA takes has to be welcomed.

"We don't want any genuine GAA supporter left standing outside Croke Park on August 27 because touts have been re-selling tickets."

Mr McElduff added: "If anyone has this experience I would encourage them to bring it to the attention of Tyrone county board and the GAA nationally."

Tyrone GAA's public relations officer Eunan Lindsay also urged fans to "only buy tickets from the official sources".

Last September the GAA issued a similar warning to fans ahead of the All-Ireland final replay between Mayo and Dublin.

In the run-up to the 2014 final between Donegal and Kerry, the chairman of Donegal GAA, Sean Dunnion, appealed to supporters to ignore touts after reports of tickets with a face value of €80 being offered for more than €1,000.

Legislation to crackdown on ticket touting has been tabled in the Dáil but has not yet been passed.