Tuesday 24 September 2019 13:21, UK
More than 2,000 Wales fans who bought tickets to watch their team play in Slovakia in next month’s Euro 2020 qualifier are in limbo as they wait to hear if they will receive compensation for their cancelled trip.
UEFA issued a fine of £17,500 to Slovakia on Monday and ordered that the game must be played in an empty stadium after Slovakia supporters were penalised for racist chanting away in Hungary two weeks ago.
A total of 2,137 Wales supporters have already booked tickets for the game on October 10.
The Slovak Football Association (SFA) has said it is appealing against the sanction, but UEFA told Sky Sports News on Tuesday that it has received no formal confirmation of an appeal.
As a result, the Football Association of Wales (FAW) cannot yet make firm plans about how best to help Wales supporters. The FAW has no right of appeal in this instance.
Welsh fans are likely to get a refund of the £20 match tickets from either the FAW or the SFA, but they are unlikely to receive any money back for the much greater costs of flights and hotels.
Sky Sports News has been told travel insurance policies will not typically cover event cancellation, because the flight and hotel bookings are still valid, and the trip itself could still take place. Wales fans who booked a package deal with a sports travel organiser are much more likely to get a refund.
Return flights from Cardiff to Bratislava required a change in Dublin and cost over £250, as well as onward travel costs to cover the 35-mile connection to the town of Trnava where the game is due to take place.
