A FC Barcelona fan wanted to go to Newcastle to watch the Champions League round of 16 game. However, he got confused about St. James’ Park. He ended up somewhere completely different, but still got to see a soccer game.
A FC Barcelona fan who wanted to attend his team’s Champions League match in Newcastle, northern England, on Tuesday made a fatal mistake on his journey there. Instead of St. James’ Park in Newcastle, the Spaniard traveled 580 kilometers to St. James Park in Exeter, southwest England, according to the AP news agency, citing the English third-division club. In the end, it was probably a single apostrophe that distinguished the two stadiums in their spelling. The fan from Spain arrived at the stadium gates shortly before kickoff of Exeter City’s game against Lincoln City on Tuesday evening. “It was only when he showed his ticket to the staff that he realized his mistake,” the club said on social media. A stadium employee had alerted the club to the man’s predicament. At least he was lucky in his misfortune that a soccer game was taking place at almost the same time and he wasn’t standing in front of completely empty gates.
Fan representative: “He was pretty down and a little embarrassed.”
“As far as we know, he came from London. I guess he typed St. James’ Park into his phone and then just followed the directions,” said Adam Spencer, fan representative for Exeter City, who also admitted that he didn’t get much out of the Barca fan because his English wasn’t very good. That’s why it wasn’t clear whether he had traveled from Spain or lived in London. In any case, his mood matched the situation. “He was pretty down and a little embarrassed. So we got him a ticket and he was able to watch the game at the real St. James’ Park. He’s welcome back anytime.”
While the Barca fan in Exeter watched the home team lose 0-1 to league leaders Lincoln City at St. James Park (without an apostrophe), which has a capacity of just over 8,000, FC Barcelona salvaged a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the round of 16 at St. James’ Park (with an apostrophe) in Newcastle in front of 52,103 spectators after a penalty goal by Lamine Yamal in extra time secured a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the round of 16 at Newcastle United.