The Gaelic Athletic Association cancelled "a number of tickets" ahead of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semifinal between Dublin and Tyrone on Aug. 27, according to Jack O'Toole of the IRISH INDEPENDENT. Tickets for the "highly anticipated" semifinal went on sale at 10am on Wednesday and "sold out in less than five minutes." Official ticket prices ranged between €30 and €45 ($35-$53) for adults. However, on resale markets such as Seatwave and Viagogo, tickets were being sold "for as much as" €207 ($244). In response, the GAA "moved to cancel a number of tickets on Thursday" and said that it made contact with resellers to "try and remove tickets that are being sold above face value." A statement from the GAA said, "Requests have also been made directly to platforms selling tickets above face value to remove them from sale and the situation continues to be monitored by the GAA's ticket office" (IRISH INDEPENDENT, 8/10). RTÉ's Peter Sweeney reported long-term and premium level ticket holders who are found to have resold their tickets at more than the official asking price "will have their tickets cancelled" and will not be "allowed to purchase them again in future." This is "part of a crackdown" by the GAA, which is "keen" to stop tickets from appearing on the black market and fans "being charged way over the odds to watch matches." This means that there is "a danger that someone can buy a ticket at above face value in good faith and not be allowed entry to Croke Park for the big match," which is why the GAA is encouraging people to "buy their tickets through official sources only." A GAA source said, "We would welcome a wider conversation on this issue. We would like to discuss ways in which we can stop this happening because at the moment we are limited in what we can do" (RTÉ, 8/10).
