'Gladiator style': How a glitch caused free-ticket mayhem for Canberra Socceroos fans

That was until Ticketek and Football Australia were made aware of the issue and shut down ticket sales just hours after they were released on Tuesday.

About 750 keen fans took advantage of a loophole, which allowed them to "buy" tickets for $0 for the Socceroos' return to Canberra for a clash against Lebanon on March 26.

When made aware of the problem, Football Australia sought answers from Ticketek. Officials are working to get in contact with the 750 people affected, but it was a small drop in the ocean as a remarkable 8500 tickets were sold in the first few hours of them becoming available.

"We have been made aware of concerns regarding a payment issue that affected approximately 750 individual transactions for the upcoming Socceroos v Lebanon match [in] Canberra," a Football Australia spokesperson said.

"We understand the importance of this matter and are actively working to address the situation. Ticketek's customer service team is in the process of reaching out to all affected individuals to complete the transactions and ensure that the same seats originally selected are secured.

"In light of this, we would like to clarify the status of ticket sales for this event. Despite the issue, an additional 8500 tickets have been successfully transacted, indicating a strong start and an expected vibrant crowd to support the Socceroos.

"We are committed to providing a swift resolution to this issue and ensuring a seamless experience for all fans attending the match. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide updates as necessary.

Fans have been waiting since October 2019 to see the Socceroos in Canberra, and officials have less than a month to push for a packed house.

"I bought tickets but could not pay! Have I reserved my seats or will I have to gladiator style it to get tickets again at a later date! Have a 9 year old desperately wanting to go," one supporter wrote on Facebook.

The Socceroos will host Lebanon at Parramatta on March 21 before backing up in Canberra five days later, with the fixture originally slated for Lebanon moved to Australia due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

"I think it's fantastic we've been able to assist a member of our confederation who is facing challenging times," Socceroos coach Graham Arnold said.

"Throughout my time as head coach, we've had limited opportunities to play in front of home crowds, so to have two matches in this window in Australia is extremely pleasing.

"I know the players are looking forward to coming home, and we're expecting Lebanon to throw everything at us in what will be two important matches in our pursuit of the third round of qualification."

The Socceroos are heavily favoured to sweep the two matches against Lebanon and secure a spot in the third round of World Cup qualification with two games to spare.