EXCLUSIVE: It’s understood FIFA will be informed of the ticketing fiasco in Dubai which resulted in hundreds of Socceroo fans being blatantly ripped off for World Cup tickets.
FFA officials were tightlipped on the issue after returning from their successful trip to the Middle East.
However it’s understood Hyder Khan Dell Akbar, the Malaysian match commissioner for the Iraq clash in Dubai, blasted the Iraqi FA’s handling of the game’s arrangements and will inform FIFA of this.
The main issue was Socceroos fans being forced to pay up to 20 times the amount Iraqi fans were charged for tickets to the World Cup qualifier, which Iraq won 1-0.
Another issue was shunting FFA’s 50 VIP and corporate guests to behind one of the goals at the Al Ahli stadium.
Only swift intervention from the FFA rescued that potentially embarrassing situation after the Australian FA had worked hard to court the corporate sector while in Dubai for the game.
“We hardly saw any Iraqi officials while we were there but there were plenty of Aussie fans angry about the ticketing,” one FFA official told au.fourfourtwo.com.
As the clash was deemed the responsibility of the Iraqi FA – and not the UAE football authorities – there was little the locals could do to help Australia.
However it’s understood Hyder Khan Dell Akbar, the Malaysian match commissioner for the Iraq clash in Dubai, blasted the Iraqi FA’s handling of the game’s arrangements and will inform FIFA of this.
The main issue was Socceroos fans being forced to pay up to 20 times the amount Iraqi fans were charged for tickets to the World Cup qualifier, which Iraq won 1-0.
Another issue was shunting FFA’s 50 VIP and corporate guests to behind one of the goals at the Al Ahli stadium.
Only swift intervention from the FFA rescued that potentially embarrassing situation after the Australian FA had worked hard to court the corporate sector while in Dubai for the game.
“We hardly saw any Iraqi officials while we were there but there were plenty of Aussie fans angry about the ticketing,” one FFA official told au.fourfourtwo.com.
As the clash was deemed the responsibility of the Iraqi FA – and not the UAE football authorities – there was little the locals could do to help Australia.
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