Ticket seller takes a €740 bite out of Sharks fans

TWO Sale supporters were badly bitten by a Limerick predator yesterday.

They are just two of up to 1,800 supporters of the English team who have travelled for today’s Heineken European Cup game against Munster at Thomond Park.

Many of the fans arrived without tickets and two Sale visitors were so desperate to see the match they forked out €740 to a Limerick tout for terrace tickets with a face value of €20.

The two tickets went on sale on eBay yesterday and over the course of a few hours the price spiralled.

There were up to 20 bids and counter bids before the tickets went to the two Sharks fans. The previous record for a black market Thomond Park terrace ticket was €200.

Sale Sharks got an allocation of 1,300 of the 14,000 tickets for the game.

Sale Sharks press officer Dave Swanton said: “This is the biggest number of fans we have ever had travel to a game outside the UK.”

Gardaí have warned that they will arrest anybody they find touting tickets for more than their face value.

Fans have also been warned to beware of forgeries which often surface for big games.

Many Limerick clubs have used their allocation for corporate packages.

The typical package for a party of 10 costs €2,500 and includes tickets, a pre-match meal, drinks, a bus to and from the game and post-match drinks.

At least one club in the city has bought in extra tickets from outside clubs.

Young Munster decided against going down the corporate road, instead offering members tickets for €150 for the three home Heineken Cup games at the start of the season.