Saints fans have been warned not to buy tickets for next month’s glamour trip to Inter Milan through unofficial sources with fears that thousands may be turned away from getting into the San Siro.

The Europa League group fixture, which takes place on Thursday, October 20, is one of the highest profile in Saints’ history.

That, allied with Milan’s easy accessibility, has inevitably led to huge demand for tickets from Saints supporters desperate to be part of this milestone occasion.

The club have been handed 5,000 tickets for the game, which go on sale from Tuesday, September 13.

Saints have been given more than the UEFA stipulated minimum five per cent of capacity at the San Siro and requested an even bigger allocation, but Italian police blocked any further allowance.

Demand is expected to hugely outstrip supply for the match, leading fans who fear they will not meet the criteria to get an official ticket through the club to explore other options.

Some supporters are believed to be attempting to register themselves with Inter Milan in the hope of bagging a ticket in amongst the home supporters, while others have turned to third party websites offering ticket resales for the away end.

A few have even discussed getting a friend who meets the ticket purchase criteria Saints have set buying a seat for them.

Saints have confirmed that trying these methods could end with entrance to the ground being refused, with Italian authorities implementing stringent rules.

When purchasing tickets for the away end through the club, supporters have to register their name, date of birth and passport details.

These will be cross checked with the photographic ID of each supporter on the gate, with anybody whose details don’t match being turned away.

For their part, Inter have confirmed that British fans turning up with tickets for any section other the away end will be refused entry.

They also dismissed suggestions there will be a 'neutral zone' in the stadium for the match.

Saints are keen to try and ensure supporters are not misled by ticket offers elsewhere and said: “UEFA rules state that Clubs are not under any obligation to allocate any more than 5% of capacity to the visiting team. Inter have exceeded this with 5,000 tickets allocated to SFC.”

“We did request additional tickets to ensure that the maximum number of Saints supporters wishing to attend the fixture could, however due to safety and security measures within the stadium and the City this was not possible.”

They added: “The only way supporters are guaranteed an official ticket which will gain them entry is by purchasing via Southampton Football Club.

“SFC strongly advises against supporters buying tickets via re-sale sites, social media or any distributer other than SFC as the tickets may be fraudulent and sold illegally.

“Supporters purchasing tickets via distributors other than directly via SFC will not have the match recorded to their supporter number and as such should SFC progress throughout the European competition this may restrict their ability to purchase further matches.”

Saints have tried to make the ticket purchasing process as fair as possible, but inevitably there will be some fans who fall short of the criteria who are unhappy.

The first batch of sales is to season ticket holders who either went to the Europa League qualifier against FC Midtjylland last season or have attended at least five domestic away games over this season and last.

All fans who fall into that category who want a ticket are guaranteed a seat if they purchase on Tuesday, September 13.

The following day remaining seats will extend to season ticket holders who have been to four away games during the same period.

Any left on Thursday, September 15, then go on sale to season ticket holders who have been to at least three away games. All ticket sales for the game are taking place online and are non-transferable.

It is highly unlikely there be tickets left by the end of this process, but in the event there is the club will announce new procedures.