Have Euro 2024 tickets been swept up by BOTS? Tournament organisers fear millions of ballot applicants are black market touts using software to buy up seats ahead of fans... as many bemoan missing out in today's ballot results

Euro 2024 organisers are worried that computer bots have swept up tickets for next year's major tournament after claiming that 'millions' of ballot applicants were black market touts.

Anticipation is building towards the European Championships in Germany next summer, with fans discovering if they have been successful in getting tickets on Tuesday - after applications first opener on October 3. 

More than 20 million ticket requests were submitted by supporters vying for a seat in Germany - but many have complained that they have missed out despite applying for a huge number of tickets.

And according to German outlet Sport Buzzer, UEFA competition director Martin Kallen admitted that bots could be the reason for difficulty in obtaining tickets, claiming they were trying to 'eliminate' the problem. 

Kallen said: 'We have a problem that computer bots are working for the black market today, there are x millions coming in that we are trying to eliminate.' 

A number of events globally are believed to pounced on by bots, which come from software used by black market touts who attempt to claim seats before fans do.

Tickets have then historically appeared on third-party websites at signifcantly higher prices. 

A number of fans have already vented their frustration at missing out on tickets. 

One said: 'I applied for over £12,000 worth of tickets for EURO 2024 in the UEFA ballot and didn’t get a single ticket.' 

Another wrote: 'Has literally anyone been successful with a Euro 2024 ticket application then hahaha.' 

A supporter even claimed he had gone ahead and bought a hotel stay in Dusseldorf - before being rejected in 18 separate applications.

'Glad I planned ahead and booked an appartment in Dusseldorf for the month following such a succcessful Euro 2024 ticket application,' they said - accompanied by a screenshot of their multiple rejections. 

'Euro 2024 matches applied for - 42. Tickets secured - 0. That's just funny,' another fan said. 

One added: 'So did anyone get tickets via the Euro 2024 lottery?! I applied for 44 tickets and got zero!' 

Euro 2024 is set to kick off on June 14 next year in Munich and end on July 14. 

So far, eight teams have confirmed their qualification for the tournament - Germany, who are hosts, Belgium, France, Portugal, England, Spain, Scotland, Turkey and Austria.