Those who believe that world cricket still has a lot to learn from the professional manner in which world football is handled, think again!

A few days ago the International Cricket Council received a lot of flak after a website selling World Cup tickets crashed due to heavy web traffic. Fans were left cursing and later comparing the manner in which tickets to top footballing events across the globe are seamlessly sold over the internet. But that need not always be true. Yesterday, football fans experienced delays as UEFA launched ticket sales for Euro 2012 and the website went down due to heavy traffic.

Fans were able to register to purchase a ticket, but they were unable to chose which matches they wanted to attend.

"There are currently too many people trying to access the UEFA EURO 2012 ticket portal," the website said when users attempted to register.

A spokesman for UEFA in Poland said the technical glitch was caused by heavy traffic after thousands accessed the website when UEFA launched the ticket selection option at midnight. The website is said to be available again at 1500 GMT.

Organisers said fans had until March 31 to select which matches they wanted to attend. They appealed for fans to not rush all at once as a lottery would be conducted if demand exceeded supply for a particular match and category. Poland is co-hosting the tournament with Ukraine.

Meanwhile, a similar lottery system is being planned by ICC too.