WATCH: Roy Keane and Shane Long hit out at ‘unfair’ ticket allocation for France match

There have to be advantages to being the hosts of a tournament, but perhaps France are getting too much of a leg-up on Sunday.

Didier Deschamps side travel to Lyon to take on the Republic of Ireland in the last-16 of Euro 2016.

A team packed with pearls of European football such Paul Pogba, Antoine Griezmann and Kingsley Coman (plus Olivier Giroud) are firm favourites to progress, thanks in no small part to the extra three days preparation they have had following their final Group A game against Switzerland last Sunday.

However, another distinct advantage enjoyed by France will be in stands as the 58,000 capacity Parc Olympique Lyonnais, where the Irish fans risk being outnumbered by nearly 10 to one.

Less than 5,000 Irish fans have acquired tickets through the official channels ahead of the match and, even allowing for the usual “beg, steal or borrow” style hunting that is currently going on across France, it looks like the Green Army will, for the first time at this tournament, be woefully outnumbered at an Ireland match.

Irish fans were comfortably in the majority in Lille on Wednesday and, while Shane Long does not think the smaller support on Sunday will have an impact he does have sympathy for those who will be disappointed.

“I feel sorry for the Irish fans because we all know how good they have been out here, how many have travelled, how much of a special occasion it is for them as well. To only get a small, small allocation of tickets for them is not fair in my eyes,” said the Tipperary man.

“I know the FAI  are working hard behind the scenes to try and rectify that as best as possible but I am sure they will still be around Lyon, getting tickets somehow and getting into little pockets of the stadium. But you know 5,000 Irish fans will still make a lot of noise.”

Assistant manager Roy Keane also felt the small allocation was unfair, describing the situation as “a shame” after the scenes in Lille.

“But I really felt that the players wanted to give the supporters a night to remember against Italy. I felt it in my bones. And they did,” said Keane.

“They all enjoyed it and it’s just a shame we won’t have as many supporters at the next game,” he added.

“With a capacity of about 58,000, we’ve got 4,500 tickets. That seems a little bit unfair. But we’ve got to roll up our sleeves and get on with it.”