St Johnstone fans took to social media to express their frustration at being unable to get hold of a precious Galatasaray ticket.
Saints supporters are desperate for the chance to see their team play in this week’s Europa League qualifier after the club was granted permission to fill McDiarmid Park to full capacity for the game against the Turkish giants.
Thousands are expected to turn up to support St Johnstone on Thursday night in what is one of the club’s biggest matches in Europe for years.
But some fans have expressed their disappointment at being unable to secure a ticket through the club’s phone line.
Jamie Mclauchlan, 23, posted a screenshot to Twitter which showed he tried to call over 200 times, with no luck, in a bid to get to the match.
Slight difficulty in getting a St Johnstone ticket pic.twitter.com/xPCXzV5hrG
— Jamie (@Ja_miez_) August 10, 2021
He said he had been calling the St Johnstone number since around 10.45am on Tuesday morning before eventually getting a ticket through a pal who is a season book holder.
Jamie, from Perth, said: “I was probably trying to get tickets for about two hours.
“My phone will only record 200 calls but I definitely called at least 200 times, probably way more than that over the course of two hours.
“Just non-stop tapping call back, call back. I was losing the will to live basically.
“I sent that tweet and luckily someone that I knew from school said they could get me a ticket and from then on, well I was beat by then so I just decided to crawl into bed and have a nap.”
‘Unbearable’
The club got the green light for the game from the council this week.
It means McDiarmid Park can host more than 10,000 people for the second leg of the third round qualifier.
The first leg in Istanbul ended in a 1-1 draw, with League Cup and Scottish Cup-winning captain Jason Kerr scoring from the penalty spot.
Jamie added: “Obviously I’ve not been to a football match live in the flesh in over a year and it’s one of the biggest St Johnstone games other than the cup finals in my lifetime.
“To miss out on that when so many other people are there as it’s a full capacity stadium, it would have been unbearable.”
The match will be broadcast live on BBC Scotland from 6.45pm on Thursday.
St Johnstone's return with Galatasaray to be shown live on Sportscene 🙌⤵️
⏰ 6.45pm, Thursday 12th August
📺 @BBCScotland— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) August 10, 2021
Jamie said: “Hopefully everybody who wants a ticket gets a ticket.
“Watching it on TV isn’t quite the same as being there in the crowd and shouting your heart out but hopefully it’ll make more people be able to see the game which is obviously a good thing.”
More tickets available
St Johnstone FC have confirmed that more tickets will be available from 9am on Wednesday for those who missed out.
A spokesman for St Johnstone FC said: “The club is thrilled to announce that we are heading towards a sell-out crowd for Thursday night’s Europa League qualifier against Galatasaray.
“We only received official notification for our McDiarmid Park capacity from Perth and Kinross council yesterday and, since then, our Ticket Office has been flat out, inundated with calls and requests.
“We can advise that more than 800 tickets are left and can be purchased from 9 am Wednesday.”
‘Challenging circumstances’
St Johnstone said the club had worked hard to accommodate fans under “challenging circumstances”.
A spokesman said: “Thanks to our fantastic offer to all of our 2,700 season ticket holders, they have had confirmation of their free entry to Thursday’s game.
“This is something we wanted to do to acknowledge their fantastic commitment to the Football Club.
“Thankfully, as of close of play today, we were able to satisfy most of the demand from supporters and accommodated more than 6000 requests for tickets.
“Under challenging circumstances, we have tried our very best to cope with as many inquiries as possible.
“We now look forward to Thursday’s game and, with the fantastic backing of our supporters, in what will be a special night at McDiarmid.
“Thank you all for your backing, and we appreciate your patience and understanding.”
Police safety precautions
Police have said they are aware of the expected turn out of the Europa League qualifier on Thursday and are working with the football club to ensure there are safety precautions in place.
Chief inspector Graham Binnie, said: “We are aware of the significance of Thursday’s fixture and are working closely with St Johnstone ahead of the match.
“Police Scotland will have an appropriate policing plan in place to maintain public safety and minimise disruption to the community.”