The Football Association (FA) has suspended ticket sales for England’s World Cup tie with Andorra, scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 10 June. The suspension comes after news of the Tube strike taking place this week.
The impending strike has the FA bracing itself for a loss of revenue and thousands of empty seats at Wembley Stadium.
Approximately 20,000 fans could miss the opportunity to attend the match as a result of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) Union industrial action that is set to last 48 hours starting on Tuesday evening at 6:59 pm.
A FA England Fans spokesman said: “Between 70,000 and 80,000 tickets have been sold. It will be difficult for those fans to get to the stadium and back home again.”
Severe delays are expected as commuters and supporters will clog up the road network and parking at the stadium is limited. “We will open the turnstiles earlier to ease the disruption and all sold tickets are still valid. Also, refunds will be made available for those who don’t make it to the game. Information will be available online after the game,” said an FA spokesman.
Fans who did manage to get hold of tickets face a gruelling journey to and from the stadium. A Transport for London spokesman said: "We will advise all match-goers on the best route to take. We are doing what we can to ease the tensions.”
The TfL spokesman said: “The strike action planned on London Underground by the RMT is completely unnecessary. It is based on a wildly unrealistic demand for a five per cent pay rise for fewer working hours in the middle of a recession."
RMT was not available for comment.
England will take to the fied on Wednesday sitting comfortably at the top of their World Cup qualifying group after a 4-0 win against Kazakhstan on Saturday.
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