Wembley Countdown (3 Days To Go):Football League Reject Ryan Request

Last updated : 22 May 2008 By Kevin Markey
Rovers have not sold their full allocation for Sunday's all-Yorkshire clash at Wembley, while Leeds, who sold out, have been criticised after thousands of fans missed out.

Rovers suspended the sale of their tickets at the Keepmoat Stadium today, due to the numbers of Leeds fans and touts who had gathered at the ground in the hope of getting one.

Ryan said: "The situation is, both clubs were given 36,000. We were given too many and Leeds too few. They've got a fantastic fanbase. I think we sold 24,000 tickets, which is a good effort with us only having average gates of 8,000 this season.

"I would gladly have given Leeds the balance, or most of the balance, but the Football League wouldn't let us because of segregation issues which is a shame because part of Wembley will be empty when it should be full really, of Leeds fans."

A Football League spokesman confirmed Doncaster had requested a ticket allocation of 30,000 tickets, with the right to claim a further 5,000 if needed.

He told PA Sport: "This meant that tickets would have to be split on a 50/50 basis between the two clubs. Once these allocations have been determined, unsold tickets cannot then be sold to fans of the other finalist due to the need to maintain segregation."