Tartan Army hit by ticket crackdown

WELSH Football Association officials were last night forced to issue a crackdown on their own supporters’ club after being swamped with ticket applications from Scotland fans.

Scotland face Wales in a crunch World Cup qualifier later this year at Cardiff. Wales have opted to play the game at the 27,000-capacity Cardiff City Stadium, instead of the giant Millennium Stadium, but may still struggle to sell out the fixture.

The Tartan Army are only expected to receive an allocation of around 4,000 tickets for the showdown – nowhere near enough. To get around this, Scotland fans have been joining the 1876 Wales Supporters Club in their hundreds, which would guarantee them a brief for the match in October. And that’s forced the Welsh to put a halt on Scots trying to get into the home end by becoming a member of the Welsh supporters club.

A statement from the Football Association of Wales stated: “The FAW will not accept applications to join the 1876 Wales Supporters Club from fans with Scottish addresses, or any fans who the FAW believe to be Scotland fans. Any applications received to date which contradict this policy will be refunded and membership terminated.”

The match will be played on 12 October.