FAI move to allay fears of repeat of Wembley violence in May friendly

The FAI are satisfied that fan segregation will work well at next month’s high profile friendly between England and Ireland at Wembley, allaying fears of any repeat of the crowd trouble which disfigured the FA Cup semi-final between Millwall and Wigan on Saturday.

Pointing out that supply should be well capable of meeting demand for the game, a spokesman for the FAI yesterday confirmed the association has sold just half of its direct allocation of 10,000 tickets for the match and added that, even though the application deadline has now been extended to May 6, there is no anticipation of a significant increase in the number travelling from here for the May 29 game.

Separately, the English FA, through their own website, have already sold 5,000 tickets directly to Irish supporters in England but, even if that number were to double between now and the game itself, sources say there would still be ample space to accommodate the away support at their own end of the ground on the night.

The FAI and the FA have been in close contact about the game for a number of months and both concede that, because of the close ties between the two countries, there will inevitably be some mixing of Irish and English fans at the stadium but not to the extent, they believe, that it should prove a serious security risk. One English fan who asked on the FA’s Wembley ticketing website if his Irish friend could sit with him in the home end has been told that it will be no problem so long as the visiting supporter doesn’t wear his team’s colours.

The long awaited friendly game marks the first meeting between the two countries since the 1995 friendly at Lansdowne Road which had to be abandoned because of rioting by a section of the visiting supporters.

The last time Ireland played England at the old Wembley was four years earlier when the teams played out a 1-1 draw in European Championship qualifying on a night which passed off without incident in the stands.

The FA, Metropolitan Police and Millwall are currently investigating the ugly scenes at the weekend’s FA Cup semi-final which saw 14 people arrested after fighting broke out in the Millwall section of the ground.

Next month’s friendly at England’s national stadium will be played on Wednesday May 29 with an 8pm kick-off time.