Facebook page for GAA fans running bogus tickets competition

By 5.30pm on Thursday, two of these competitions, between them, had garnered 1,718 reactions, 1,474 shares, and 1,722 comments.

When you run a competition for tickets, it can gain a lot of traction but it seems that a Facebook page for GAA fans has advertised what looks like a bogus contest for what simply must be the pursuit of likes and shares. 'GAA banter page' posted two separate giveaway draws on Facebook on Thursday:

• 4 x free tickets to Manchester United v Sampdoria (Aviva Stadium, August 2)
• 2 x free tickets to Liverpool v Athletic Club (Aviva Stadium, August 5)

The terms of entry were simple: like the page and either tag a mate or share the post. The latest of these competitions was put up at 11.05am offering the opportunity for fans of the page to win tickets to the Liverpool game in Dublin. The post reads:

"Thanks to our sponsors Chevrolet, we are giving away two free tickets to Liverpool FC v Athletic Club..."

SportsJOE contacted Chevrolet who denied having any relationship with GAA banter page. They also denied sponsoring the page and claimed 'this is a bogus site offering bogus tickets'. It gets better. The first competition was posted earlier in the day at 7.22am stating that four tickets were available to give away to the Manchester United game next Wednesday. This time though, the tickets were said to come courtesy of sponsors Chevorlet - not Chevrolet. Interestingly, similar tickets can currently be bought on DoneDeal for 60 euro. One man's similar is another man's identical. Because, in actual fact, these tickets are so similar, they are exactly the same. Both GAA banter page and the tickets on DoneDeal are offering the same seats for the same game on the same day (United v Sampdoria on August 2).

• West Stand Lower Tier, Block 120, Row Y, Seats 10-11
• East Stand Upper Tier, Block 505, Row AA, Seats 8-9

GAA banter page was twice contacted by SportsJOE for clarification on:

• Where the tickets they advertised came from
• Whether they will actually be given away on Thursday as per the competition
• Why identical tickets for the United game are available on DoneDeal

So far, there has been no response.