GAA 24 September 1997
By Tom Kelly
The chairman of the Mayo G.A.A. Board has issued an urgent appeal to supporters on the eve of the county's All-Ireland senior football final against Kerry at Croke Park on Sunday.
Noel Forde pleaded with followers to stop hassling players and officials for big match tickets. He said the players had to cope with enough of pressures without the added burden of trying to obtain tickets for relatives and friends.
"These people are not helping the cause by contacting the players."
Forde revealed members of the county board had been inundated by requests for tickets, and there was no way they could meet all the demands.
"Almost every day since we qualified for the final, I have received letters and 'phone calls for people seeking tickets. Some of the letters contained cheques, and I am left with no option but to return the money."
Forde apologised to all the people who left messages on his answering machine looking for tickets.
"There was simply no way I can reply to everybody. It is impossible."
Forde confirmed that Mayo's allocation had been cut by up to 400 tickets this year because of new security measures introduced at Croke Park.
"The reality of the situation is that a lot of our genuine supporters will not get tickets."
There is also a huge demand for tickets for the after-match reception in the Burlington Hotel on Sunday night.
"We could have sold our allocation three or four times over for that as well," he added.
