Uefa’s ticketing app allows fans to resell tickets on multiple occasions, opening the door to touting and potential crowd problems.
Changes made in response to the pandemic mean fans who have tickets but are no longer able to attend cannot claim a refund from Uefa. They are being encouraged to transfer tickets to a “friend or family member” via the Euro 2020 ticket app.
Whereas England fans who buy tickets through the national allocation cannot transfer their tickets, under rules imposed by the Football Association supporters of England’s Group D opponents Croatia and the Czech Republic can.
With both countries on the UK’s amber list, travelling fans would have to quarantine for 10 days in the UK and estimates are that as few as 200 overseas fans are expected to travel from an allocation of 2,100, leaving ample tickets available for resale. The Czech and Croatian football federations said they were unable to confirm the numbers of fans expected to travel.
Tickets can be passed on to “friends” who have to provide personal information to the Uefa system, including a passport or ID number and a telephone contact. That user can only pay face value for the ticket through the app, but there is nothing to stop the vendor from adding an additional fee through Paypal or a bank transfer. Once purchased the buyer could move the tickets on again.
There are concerns that individuals who might have been prevented from buying tickets through England’s participating nation allocation may secure tickets through this secondary market, with the FA having no oversight of the process.
There is also the possibility of large groups of England fans sitting in areas designated for travelling support. There will, however, be no active segregation of supporters at most games, with fans able to move freely.
Of the group fixtures at Wembley only the match between England and Scotland is deemed a “risk” game, meaning extra security, with both sets of fans unable to transfer tickets because of restrictions imposed by their respective associations.