Thank heavens for that. Or John Delaney at least.
Many Irish fans were sent into a tizzy on Thursday night after reports broken that anyone who had applied for tickets to Euro 2016 could be denied simply for using a debit card to make their booking.
It was feared that UEFA would only allocate tickets for the tournament to those who had applied using a credit card.
We’re fans of paying with plastic but a huge majority of Irish fans, including this writer, had included debit cards as the payment to try and see the Boys in Green this summer in France.
Over 270,000 Irish fans entered the lottery for tickets and it was understood by the FAI on Thursday that no debit cards would be allowed as payment for tickets.
It also seemed as the Welsh FA believed the same thing as they issued a warning to their supporters before Christmas of the possible problem.
#EURO2016 UEFA have advised that fans who apply using a debit card should cancel and resubmit the application with a credit card (1/2)
— FAW Ticket Office (@FAW_Tickets) December 14, 2015
#EURO2016 Even if an application has been accepted at this stage with a debit card, payment may still not be processed (2/2)
— FAW Ticket Office (@FAW_Tickets) December 14, 2015
However UEFA have today confirmed that anyone who did input details of their debit card, should be fine and the news has officially been confirmed in an FAI statement on Friday evening.
“The Football Association of Ireland is pleased to announce that following talks in Nyon between UEFA and FAI CEO John Delaney, UEFA has agreed that debit cards will now be accepted for ticket applications for EURO 2016.
“This week, question marks over the validity of applications had been raised after it was feared that UEFA would only accept credit cards.“However in Nyon, Switzerland today the matter was fully resolved with UEFA confirming that debit cards would be accepted.“Even though the ticketing portal mentions that only credit cards are valid, debit cards work as well provided there are sufficient funds on it.“FAI CEO John Delaney said today: “I am delighted that UEFA has ceded to our requests to solve this potential difficulty for many Irish fans.”“The FAI and UEFA are now working together to approve all applications, which exceed 275,000 tickets for EURO 2016. All applicants will learn if their application is successful or unsuccessful by February 29 at the latest.”
The only issue now, is whether you have enough money in the bank when the lads from Uefa come calling looking for a couple of hundred quid in the first week of February.
