Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
TAKING A STAND ON CROKER PRICES Senator slams GAA as fans face ticket hikes
Ticketmaster hit by cyber attack
THE GAA has been urged to reverse its ticket price hike amid warnings it will exclude fans from the sport they love.
Labour’s sports spokesman Mark Wall put the boot into plans to charge supporters €100 for All-Ireland final stand tickets at Croker.
Senator Wall said: “As a GAA supporter all my life I think it’s wrong. There’s a cost of living crisis out there.”
On Friday GAA bosses announced that the price of All-Ireland Final stand tickets will go up by €10 to €100 with terrace tickets up from €50 to €55. Tickets prices for All-Ireland quarter-final and semi-finals in both codes have been raised by €5 across the board.
Senator Wall told the Sunday Mirror that the rise will put going to big matches out of reach for many, especially struggling families.
He said: “I think it’s wrong and it should be reversed. There’s a cost of living crisis out there at the moment and we want to keep people playing GAA.
“They should follow the example of Leinster Rugby which discounted their tickets and filled out Croke Park.” He also hit out at what he sees as a growing “commercialism” creeping into what is supposed to be an amateur sport.
He added: “That’s the big issue. GAAGO [pay per view service] has robbed a lot of people, especially older people, of the joys of the GAA.”
GAA chiefs have vowed to use the additional revenue to increase the spend on club facilities, but the price hike has sparked outrage among fans.
Many took to social media after the price hike claiming the GAA was being “greedy”.
The GAA said this is the first hike in final ticket prices since 2019 and the second in the past 14 years.
It added: “This is part of a ticketing review which featured discounts during the Allianz Leagues, has seen new three for two offers for All-Ireland series games and GAA membership discounts of €5 issued via Foireann for the Allianz League finals and again for the upcoming football and hurling preliminary quarter-finals.”
Mark Wall
TICKETMASTER has been targeted by hackers allegedly offering to sell customer data on the dark web, its parent company Live Nation said.
The ShinyHunters hacking group is reportedly demanding around £400,000 in a ransom payment to prevent the data being sold.
The group gained access to the names, addresses, phone numbers and partial payment details of 560 million of the site’s customers, it has been reported.
The ticket sales platform and Live Nation were asked for comment.
I think it’s wrong and it should be reversed
ON GAA PRICE INCREASES