Disgruntled supporters express disappointment over the unavailability of tickets for the match versus Celtic
In the world of football, excitement is building as the second leg of the Champions League playoff qualifiers between Kazakhstan's FC Kairat and Scotland's Celtic approaches. The return match will take place on August 26 at the Central Stadium in Almaty.
However, the lead-up to this highly anticipated event has been marred by fan outrage over ticket scalping. Many tickets for the match were quickly bought up by scalpers, leaving genuine fans disappointed and frustrated.
The first leg of the match will be played in Scotland on August 21, with the visiting coach, Vladimir Weiss, personally congratulating each player in the winners' locker room after Kairat's victory over Slovakia's Slavia.
Fans who managed to secure tickets for the Almaty match have been advised to arrive at the stadium 2-3 hours before the match. Entry will be from three gates: Abai Avenue, Satpayev Street, and Baiturly Street.
Fans are urging others not to buy tickets from scalpers and demanding immediate action from the club's management. There are calls for stronger control over sales and resales to prevent ticket scalping, with suggestions for measures such as limiting sales to no more than 2 tickets per person, implementing personalised tickets (with name and ID), and digital ticketing with buyer identification.
Some fans have even suggested a boycott to drive up the prices for scalpers and make it difficult for them to sell tickets. However, the management of FC Kairat has yet to react to the fans' outrage about ticket scalping.
There is a growing concern about the lack of organisation in the ticket sale process, with suggestions for improvements such as named tickets and passport data checks at the stadium entrance. Despite these concerns, all available tickets for the match were sold out in less than 1.5 hours on August 19th.
The second leg of the match between Kairat and Celtic will be aired live on Qazsport channel, giving fans who weren't able to secure tickets the opportunity to watch the action unfold.
Typically, football teams combat ticket scalping by using digital ticketing with buyer identification, limiting ticket quantities per buyer, or implementing secure resale platforms. However, since no direct information is available from the latest sources regarding FC Kairat's anti-scalping strategies, these cannot be confirmed at this time.
As the date of the match approaches, it remains to be seen how FC Kairat will address the issue of ticket scalping and whether they will implement any of the suggested measures to prevent it in the future.
