On Tuesday night, St James Park received a very unexpected visitor. It was a 25-year-old man, dressed in mountain gear with a huge backpack on his back. The young man timidly approached the stewards with his phone in hand to show them the ticket. The match was about to start, and the fans were already nervously wandering around the stadium. Then, a cold sweat. "Sorry, but you're not going to see Newcastle - Barcelona here," he was told at the entrance by the Spaniard.
The Barça fan's phone displayed a ticket for the match his team was playing against Newcastle at St James' Park, not St James Park. A small apostrophe makes the difference. That difference is 600 kilometers: the distance between the northern city where Lamine Yamal and his team were playing and the county of Devon in the south, where Exeter City was playing. Also, in the stadiums themselves, while Exeter's St James Park can accommodate 8,000 fans, Newcastle's, with an apostrophe, can hold 52,000.
When the steward corrected the fan's mistake, he was left "devastated". "He looked very scared, lost, and very alone," says Josh Denman, an Exeter fan who witnessed the whole scene. He initially thought it was a joke played by his friends or some Tiktok or Youtube video. "I was already expecting the cameras to show up," he adds.
He mentioned that the young man had a rather poor English and had taken a train from Paddington station in London, ending up here with his ticket hoping to see his team, which would end up drawing against the Magpies in the actual match. The stewards then informed Adam Spencer, Supporter Experience Officer at Exeter City Football Club, about what had happened and sent the young man to speak with him.
The fan repeated his story as best as he could and explained that he had paid £100 (¤116) for a ticket that he could no longer use. The Exeter fan responsible, initially incredulous and then saddened by the fan's situation, decided to invite him to the match taking place that same night at St James Park without an apostrophe. Exeter City was playing against Lincoln City, a match from matchday 36 of the English Third Division, equivalent to the Spanish Primera RFEF.
Spence, trying to cheer up the Barça fan, told him that he preferred "to see Reece Cole than Lamine Yamal". He mentioned that the guy felt very embarrassed and did not want his name to be known or agree to have his photo taken to share his story. However, he did enter the stadium, at least to watch the first half between the two teams. "I didn't see him in the second half, maybe he went to a hotel to watch the second half of the Barça game on TV," explains Spence, joking that they often say "our St James Park is the real one".
The story ends with neither of the two teams achieving the desired result. While Exeter was defeated by a solitary goal from Tom Hamer in the 32nd minute, Barça secured a draw in the final moments of the match with a penalty converted by Lamine Yamal. Drama in the stadiums and in the journey of this young fan who will never forget the difference in names between the two stadiums. "I think he followed the phone and got confused," explains Josh.
It remains unknown whether this Barcelona fan flew to London and got lost at the train station or if he already lived in London, although the latter, judging by his communication skills, seems less likely. It is also unclear if he managed to return to his destination after that mistake. At least, the return leg of the Champions League match between Barcelona and Newcastle is at Camp Nou. Hopefully, the young man won't end up at a match between Sabadell and Europa.