'Loyal' supporter successfully sues the FAI after losing €1,091 due to Ireland away match fixture change

A "loyal" football supporter has successfully sued the FAI, claiming he was "treated like muck" after a rescheduled international away game left him out of pocket.

Gerry Flynn, 76, a lifelong football fan, was awarded €1,091, the total loss he incurred when the date for a 2022 Republic of Ireland – Armenia match was brought forward by three days.

He brought a civil action before Dublin District Court on Thursday, when Judge Marie Quirke ruled in his favour and said the FAI was negligent in running a wrong statement on its website.

She noted the association had alerted the media, but she was "shocked" that it had not amended the date for the game on its own website, which Mr Flynn, a former player and club manager, treated "as gospel" for updates.

Mr Flynn, from Ennafort Park, Raheny, Dublin, told the court he had followed football all his life and had travelled to 90 per cent of the Irish team's away matches for 50 years.

In evidence, he vividly recalled his first trip was to an away game, a draw against England in Wembley stadium, before telling Judge Quirke about his stints as a young player with Dundalk FC and later as a coach and administrator with Cherry Orchard in Dublin.

However, he alleged the FAI "betrayed" him and accused it of ignoring his complaints about the 2022 match date change, which forced him to pay for extra expenses to get to the stadium in time for kick-off.

Mr Flynn told the court that he and a group of four, including his teenage son, decided to travel to the UEFA Nations League game in Yerevan, Armenia.

According to the FAI website, he said, it was initially supposed to be on June 7th, 2022, in Armenia.

He booked a Lufthansa flight on April 12th. Mr Flynn claimed the match date had been listed on