Ticketmaster crashed multiple times yesterday in their latest mistake when it comes to GAA ticketing, as thousands of Faithful followers were left out in the cold.
Social media is awash with Offaly supporters trying to get their hands on tickets, while Nowlan Park's Kilkenny venue is clearly unable to cope with demand domestically.
Offaly clinched the Leinster U20 title against Dublin in Portlaoise last Wednesday evening with just over 15,000 officially in attendance, although that number was probably closer to 20,000 when children are taken into account.
Nowlan Park was selected as the match venue earlier this year to commemorate the 100th anniversary of James Nowlan's death, with the winning trophy also named after the former GAA president.
A statement from Offaly GAA on Sunday evening said: “We hope that additional tickets can become available in the coming days. We will keep supporters informed of new developments.”
What has further angered Offaly supporters is that several Tipperary clubs have posted via their social media channels that an allocation of tickets for the match was available to them.
Lorrha & Dorrha, Roscrea and Toomevara were among the clubs who had advertised tickets online, while many Offaly fans were unable to secure their tickets through Ticketmaster.
Speaking with the Offaly Express this morning Offaly GAA chairman Michael Duignan revealed that Faithful chiefs were advised by Croke Park and Ticketmaster not to accept such an allocation.
Offaly supporters were instead encouraged to buy tickets online, although that did not go as they had planned.
Offaly GAA chairman Michael Duignan has apologized to true Faithful fans but believes tickets will become available.
“Tipperary took figures for their clubs, the advice we were given was not to do it. Looking back, I don't know if that was a good or bad decision. Should we have taken an allocation for our clubs? said Duignan.
“Maybe we should have, I'm not sure. It would have caused a lot of hassle for the clubs and just shifted the problem. Tipperary felt Offaly would have a huge crowd there and tried to make sure that they had a decent audience.
“The advice we received was that club tickets would be widely available and people would be better off buying online themselves. Offaly wrote to clubs and told them this on Friday. There was no comeback.”
Duignan stressed that yesterday's increase in tickets was “great in terms of demand” and he hopes tickets will trickle back into the system in the coming days, allowing genuine Offaly supporters to attend the high-profile match.
“My biggest concern is the people who go to all the games. I hope the really genuine people come there. The game is sold out, but hopefully tickets will become available by then. I believe there will be tickets in circulation, but we will have to see,” he said.
“Ticketmaster has said their system has not crashed. In fact, they were shocked by what happened in the first ten minutes. It was out of our control, but I want to apologize to anyone who wasn't taken care of.
“We want everyone from Offaly at the game but there is only so much we can do. “I spoke to Jarlath Burns (GAA president) this morning and he said the demand has been incredible.
“People are frustrated and I apologize if they have not received tickets. We are very concerned about everyone going to the game. It is a very unusual situation for the GAA.
“Offaly have broken the mold when it comes to support for these matches. The average attendance for a normal U-20 All-Ireland final would be 7,000/8,000, maximum 10,000.
“The evidence is starting to sink in that there are tickets. That doesn't mean all real people are sorted at this point. Hopefully they will be.”
Two years ago Tipperary and Offaly met in an All-Ireland minor final at Nowlan Park, a match the Premier won in dramatic fashion through a last-gasp goal from Paddy McCormack, when more than 20,000 were in attendance.
Given that Nowlan Park hosted a Bruce Springsteen concert two weeks ago which clearly had a negative impact on the playing surface on the O'Loughlin Gaels side, the reluctance to look at a larger venue to accommodate the huge Offaly supporters also angered fans.
Wexford senior hurling manager Keith Rossiter also expressed his disbelief at the state of the pitch after the Model men narrowly fell to Kilkenny in last Sunday's Leinster SHC match.
Today's sports news in 90 seconds – May 28