Scotland fan groups have criticised a Euro 2024 ticket “shambles” which delayed the start of the controversial sales process to official supporter club members.

Up to 10,000 members of the Scottish Football Association’s Scotland Supporters Club were due to start buying tickets for the three group games at noon on Wednesday but a blunder forced a late postponement.

The SFA blamed a “technical error” after many fans were sent access codes for the UEFA ticket portal despite having less than the 12 SSC loyalty points required to take part in the first sales window.

The Tartan Army were still reeling from the sobering impact of ticket prices of up to 600 euros (about £514) for the opening match with Germany when the sale was called off less than an hour before it was due to start.

Many SSC members were already unhappy that those with the most points have not been given the opportunity to buy the less expensive tickets first.

The sale is now due to start at noon on Thursday and is open to all members with 12 or more points.

A statement from the Association of Tartan Army Clubs read: “Today should have been a day of celebration for the Tartan Army getting their hands on a ticket for the upcoming Euros. The reality is that it has turned in to a shambles.

“We are extremely disappointed and concerned that there was no supporter consultation in advance of the ticket sale schedule and methodology. The opportunity was there.

“Additionally, we would have expected the SFA to have consulted with other participating nations in order to identify best practice. This was a serious failing.”

The group said it had been highlighting what other countries were doing to sell tickets to supporters following a Fan Embassy workshop in Hamburg.

SSC members were later sent another email telling them that new access codes would be sent out on Thursday morning ahead of the noon start.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the unfortunate technical issue that delayed today’s sale of UEFA Euro 2024 tickets,” the supporters club email added.

Although members with at least 12 points are guaranteed tickets for games against Germany, Hungary and Switzerland, fans had been gearing up to apply at noon in a bid to get the less expensive tickets.

UEFA has allocated 10,000 tickets to fans of each nation for each game in the tournament.

However, the tickets vary in price and the opening match against Germany in Munich on June 14 comes at a huge premium.

Tickets range from 50 to 600 euros for the game, which makes them significantly more expensive than all the other group stage matches.

Only about 3,000 tickets are available to Scotland fans at the lower rate, with 3,435 tickets costing 195 euros. The next 2,541 fans will have to pay 400 euros and more than 1,000 supporters face paying 600 euros to get in.