The Gibraltar FA have stopped selling tickets online for the match against the Republic of Ireland and apologised to supporters over a delay in sourcing them.
Irish fans have been allocated 900 tickets in the 2,300-capacity Victoria Stadium, but there were fears from the home nation that more would be snapped up online by visiting supporters.
They said that demand far exceeds the allocation and "there was a real risk that these would be purchased by Irish supporters who missed out on the away section allocation."
In a statement, Gibraltar FA said: "To protect the interests of the local supporter, and to ensure that as many Gibraltarians as possible had the chance to purchase a ticket, we took the cautious method of removing the online system and selling them from our official shop in Irish Town, and requesting documentation of residence in Gibraltar.
"This is particularly relevant in the absence in our system of any secure ‘geo-blocking’ technology that would ensure fans living in Gibraltar had priority on tickets at all times."
Home fans had to queue for up to three hours to purchase tickets which the Gibraltar FA described as "entirely unacceptable and not a scene we want repeated."
Tickets have since sold out.
🎫 Tickets for Gibraltar 🇬🇮🆚Republic of Ireland 🇮🇪 have now sold out. pic.twitter.com/YCorp8fG3Q
— Gibraltar FA (@GibraltarFA) February 5, 2019
As a gesture of gratitude, the GFA said their friendly with Estonia on 26 March would be free of charge.
