Delaney calls on fans to be Ireland’s ‘12th man’

HOW many Irish fans eventually make it into the Stade de France on November 18 remains to be seen but the early indications are that well over 10,000 will secure a golden ticket for the second leg of the World Cup play-off.

The French FA have already handed over the obligatory 8,500 tickets to the FAI, which amounts to 10% of the ground’s capacity, and many more supporters are expected to source avenues on the continent itself.

“The Irish fans are very innovative at getting tickets,’’ said FAI chief executive John Delaney, “we all know that. They’ll buy them off the French directly and do all the wonderful things they have done in the past.