Ireland football fan uses stolen tracksuit and bag of balls disguise to watch match from Estonia dugout

An inspired Irish football fan blagged his way onto the sidelines in Tallin to watch Ireland beat Estonia posing as a ball boy in the rival team's tracksuit. Conor Cunningham (27), a sports and recreation student from Ballincollig in Cork, sneaked through the media entrance to gain access to the stadium. Stopped by security, he ducked through a doorway into a storage room, where he found an Estonian tracksuit and a bag of balls.



Desperate to watch the game, but with no ticket, the ballsy soccer fan staged a daring escapade to join the Eastern Europeans in their dug out at the Le Coq Arena in Tallinn on Friday night. “Touts were looking for €600 for tickets with a €14 face value and after paying for the flight, I was ready to do anything. I threw on the gear, kept the head down and went for it,” Mr Cunningham said. Sticking out like a ‘sore thumb’ on the bench with the Estonian team, Mr Cunningham said he was terrified and it wasn’t long before he was spotted and asked to leave.

“The fourth official asked me what I was doing thereand I told him I was looking after the balls,” he said. Far from being thrown out, Mr Cunningham was told to take a seat behind the dug out, allowing him access to one of the best vantage points in the stadium. “Five rows back on the half way line, it was one of the best seats in the house,” he said. As Ireland extended a dramatic 4-0 lead over Estonia, Mr Cunningham could barely contain his excitement. Whooping and cheering at the final whistle, he ducked passed security to celebrate with the players on the pitch.


YouTube link.

“It must have looked odd, dressed in that tracksuit celebrating with the lads. When they heard my story they thought I was crazy, they couldn’t believe I pulled it off,” he said. Chatting with Keith Andrews, Sean St Ledger and Aiden McGeedy, he followed the boys down the tunnel after the match. Finally, as the team conducted post match media interviews, the plucky fan was booted out. “They kicked me out in the end, someone realised I was out of place, but that didn’t matter, I got what I came for,” he said. He kept the Estonian team tracksuit, which he has at home in Ballincollig and plans to wear it for luck during Ireland’s first European Cup final bid in 24 years.

There are more videos showing Mr Cunningham's jape here.