Fan dons Estonia tracksuit to sneak into

Ireland match

Irish football fan Conor Cunningham snuck into Ireland's Euro 2012 qualifier against Estonia simply by donning an Estonia tracksuit.

And the 27-year-old from Cork ended up sitting next to Estonia's manager in the dugout after his extraordinary display of nerve in Tallinn.

He ended up watching most of the match from one of the best seats in the house, and even joined in the Ireland team's post-match celebrations on the pitch after the 4-0 victory.

"I was just determined to see the match – 11 of us arrived in Tallin for the game and we were being quoted €600 for tickets," Cunningham told the Irish Independent.

Without the money to pay a tout, Cunningham tried to blag his way in as a security guard – but when that failed, he decided to try his luck by slipping into an unlocked and unguarded door at the side of the stadium.

"It was a corridor and a dead end. But I did see a bag of footballs and, when I picked them up, spotted an Estonian tracksuit underneath them," he explains.

He quickly popped the disguise on over his Ireland shirt and jeans then headed back to the main entrance with the bag of footballs over his shoulder, where security staff calmly waved him through.

Having got into the stadium, however, he decided to carry on playing the part of one of the Estonia backroom staff.

"I didn't know what to do, to be honest, so I thought I'd better go into the Estonian dug-out. No one said anything to me and then I realised I was sitting beside their manager," he added.

"It was about 10 or 15 minutes into the match when a UEFA official got suspicious of me. He came over and, after talking to me, told me I had to move."

Rather than being thrown out, Cunningham was merely directed to the stands, where he stood next to a TV cameraman.

After a quarter of an hour, however, it looked like the game was up when he was approached by a steward – but this time he was merely shown into an empty seat just six rows back from the pitch side.

From there he watched Ireland demolish the hosts to all-but-guarantee their place at Euro 2012 – they confirmed their qualification with a 1-1 draw in the return match a few days later – and he couldn't resist celebrating with his idols.

"When the match was over and Ireland had qualified, I said I'd chance my arm and I walked out on to the pitch. I celebrated with the players, shook hands with them all and even asked a few if I could have their jerseys," he said, while the video taken by one of his friends from the stand shows him revealing the Ireland shirt under his tracksuit to some of the Irish stars.

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