Three soccer fans have lost €1,400 after Ireland’s match with Armenia was brought forward by three days.
The fixture in Yerevan was originally scheduled for June 7 but will now be played on June 4 to allow Ukraine to take on Scotland in a rescheduled World Cup play-off.
Gerry Flynn, 74, from Ballyfermot, has been left angered that the date of the game has been changed, without travelling fans being given any warning.
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He told The Irish Mirror: “So the situation is that last week we [his son and a friend] booked flights to Armenia for the match on June 4.
“It cost us €1,400 and two days later the games were being changed.” The Ireland supporter believes the FAI could have had better communication with fans advising them to hold off on making travel arrangements.
He added: “I am a season ticket holder and all it would have taken is an email. They never got in touch with anybody.
“As a result, we’re in a situation where we would arrive three hours after the game was over.”
Gerry only discovered the news last week when the FAI revealed Ireland’s games were being switched to accommodate Scotland playing Ukraine, which was scheduled for last month but cancelled due to the war.
He explained: “I was in the house two days after we booked the tickets, and my son said ‘The games have been rescheduled’. I just thought this can’t be true.”
Now Gerry, who has been following Ireland at home and abroad since 1959, has had to pay hundreds on new flights – on top of the money lost on the previously booked trip.
He said: “We decided that we would book new flights and that was €900 we paid on new flights and that was the best deal.
“I’m lucky I can afford to change the flights, but there’s many that can’t.”
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the FAI said it “understands the frustrations felt by those fans who had already booked flights”.
However, it said, UEFA and FIFA felt they had no option but to reschedule fixtures “to facilitate Ukraine’s return to international football in the face of the extraordinarily difficult situation in their country”.
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