England and Wales fans warned over last 16 ticket vouchers

Optimistic England fans who booked tickets to Saturday's Euro 2016 last 16 clash featuring the winners of Group B have been caught out after Wales beat England to top spot.

England, who failed to beat Slovakia on Monday night, finished as runners-up behind Wales and will now play in Monday night in Nice against the second-placed team in Group F, which could potentially be Portugal.

Wales, on the other hand, thrashed Russia to top Group B and will be playing at Parc des Princes in Paris on Saturday night, with fans now scrabbling for tickets.

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Many England fans with tickets to the match in Paris are hoping to swap their tickets for ones to the game in Nice but both sets of fans have been warned to be wary of the voucher system in place at the tournament.

Many tickets for knock-out games sold to supporters of certain teams were issued in the form of personalised vouchers, which can be exchanged for tickets at the gate. Tickets sold to fans of teams that have been eliminated will go back to Uefa and unwanted vouchers can also be returned for resale. But they cannot be sold on privately as they are worthless in the hands of anyone other than the person who purchased them.

The BBC explains that Wales fans need "a voucher with their name on it to exchange for tickets in Paris" and have been warned "not to buy vouchers off touts or other fans as they would not be able to exchange them".

Paul Corkery from the Football Supporters' Federation Cymru told BBC Wales: "The portal will reopen for tickets that are being returned, which is a difficult process in itself, especially over a few days.

"The problem we have is you'll get England fans now offering their vouchers to the Welsh fans, and unless the England fans can physically get to Paris and exchange their vouchers for tickets and then sell those tickets, that's fine, but a voucher is worthless until you exchange it for tickets."

Euro 2016: 500 England vs Russia tickets still in the post

07 June

Around 500 England fans are still without their tickets for the Three Lions' opening Euro 2016 game against Russia on Saturday night.

Many of the tickets are being held at sorting offices because of an issue with the amount of paid postage when they were sent, reports Sky Sports.

Affected fans have been critical of the Football Association over a lack of communication.

"The FA has been contacted by worried buyers ahead of Saturday's opening fixture against Russia in Marseille and expects all deliveries to be completed by Wednesday," says Sky.

The problem has affected around two per cent of the tickets sold through the FA.

"The FA said that should fans have already made the journey to France, there will be a collection option at Marseille's Stade Velodrome, where the Group B match is taking place," adds the BBC.

Meanwhile, fans who buy genuine tickets over the internet could find themselves refused entry to matches because of strict security measures, warns the Daily Mail.

Supporters will be required to produce ID to be allowed into grounds and there are stringent conditions on reselling, with tickets only allowed to be sold through Uefa's resale site.

Consumer watchdog Which? has criticised websites that allow fans to buy tickets even though they are breaching consumer law.

Alex Neill, Which?'s director of policy, told Mail Online: "If you haven't bought your ticket directly from an official source there is no guarantee that you'll be able to get into the game and you could be left thousands of pounds out of pocket."

Euro 2016 tickets: Uefa tool helps fans avoid online scams

03 June

With Euro 2016 just a week away, there are still tickets available for some of the group stage games, with a handful of the most expensive seats for the opening ceremony and fixture between France and Romania in Paris still unsold.

There are no tickets available for any of the group games involving England, Wales or Ireland, although, at time of writing, there were still category one and two tickets (costing €145 and €105 - £112 and £81) on sale for Northern Ireland's group C game against Ukraine in Lyon on 16 June.

Also available are Russia vs Slovakia on 15 June in Lille; Iceland vs Hungary on 18 June in Marseille; Romania vs Albania on 19 June in Lyon; and Iceland vs Austria at the Stade de France on 22 June.

In order to buy tickets, fans must register online at the Euro 2016 ticketing site and Uefa warns that the "last-minute sales platform will be operating on a first come, first served basis".

As usual, there are warnings about buying tickets from online resellers and the Daily Mirror warns that "shadowy fraudsters" are conning fans out of millions of pounds.

To help fans check if a ticket site is genuine, Uefa has launched a browser utility tool that warns users "if they are about to land on website considered authorised or unauthorised to sell Uefa Euro 2016 tickets", it says.

For those who cannot get tickets, there are fan zones around France, although security will be tight. "There will be daily searches for explosives, pat downs, metal detectors at entrances, and leave your large bags at home because they won't be allowed inside," says the Daily Mail.

Security around England's clash with Wales in Lille will be particularly tight and with little chance of buying a ticket, fans have been advised against travelling to the town.

Lille has a population of just 40,000, the stadium holds 35,000 and there are concerns about the influx of fans, says the BBC. The town also has a "fan zone capable of holding just 10,000 fans, a handful of bars and a ban on consuming alcohol on the streets".