The two stadiums are 366 miles apart. In one there are more than 50,000 people and in the other less than 10,000. The buzz when walking to the two grounds is a little different.
However, one Barcelona fan seemed not to realize he was on the wrong ground and tried to pass through the turnstiles at Exeter City’s modest stadium (St James’ Park) instead of Newcastle United’s huge stadium (St James’ Park).
Exeter staff told on Thursday how they kindly explained the mistake and gave him a seat for their third division match against Lincoln City instead of the Champions League clash he had hoped to see.
“He looked absolutely devastated,” said Adam Spencer, head of fan experience at Exeter City.
“I put him in a good seat in the main stand. I thought, well, it’s closer to the pitch here than it would be in Newcastle, and we don’t have VAR (top-flight football’s video referee system), so I thought maybe he would have had a better night.”
But when Spencer went to check on him in the second half, the fan had slipped away. News of the error has spread far and wide. A well-known optician is trying to locate the amateur to publicize the error, as is a betting company.
“He must have seen it by now,” Spencer said, “but from my interaction with him on Tuesday, I’d say he’s probably too embarrassed right now. I’m sure in years to come he’ll remember his big night at Exeter City. But maybe not this week.”
Spencer said he was getting ready for the game when a member of the club’s ambassador team showed up at the office.
“They said there was a guy trying to get into a turnstile with a Newcastle vs Barcelona ticket. I thought it was a rope. I asked them to bring him to the fan zone. He was probably in his 20s or 30s. He had a scruffy look on his face. I could tell he had been through a tough time.
“He didn’t speak much English. He just said to me, ‘Train, London’. We think he had traveled from London and had just gotten off the train and walked straight up to the turnstile with his ticket and tried to use it. He told some of his followers that it cost £100 to get in.
“I told him, ‘Look buddy, I’m going to get you a ticket to come here tonight. You still have to watch some football.’
“I walked him to the door. I told him, to be honest, mate, I’d rather see Reece Cole (an Exeter midfielder) than Lamine Yamal (Barcelona superstar) anyway. But I don’t think he understood a word I said.”
In the second half he was already gone. “Whether he was sitting in another seat or had gone into town to watch the Barcelona game on television or drown his sorrows. I don’t know,” Spencer said.
“My guess would be that he put St James Park on his phone. The train station right next to the station here has the same name. And he trotted off. That’s his planning done. He’s on a nice, relaxing journey. Until he gets here and walks to the stadium and thinks, I thought Gallowgate (Newcastle’s famous end) would be a bit noisier than that.”
There has been skepticism about the story from some football fans and commentators.
Spencer said: “I think it’s pretty incredible that you could make that mistake, but I think the biggest factor was that he didn’t speak much English. Spencer said he didn’t take a photo because the Barcelona fan was too embarrassed. “I didn’t feel right at the time to ask him.”
Exeter have never played Barcelona, but one link is that they are both fan-owned.
Neil Le Milliere, a fan council member who owns the majority of the club’s shares, said: “It’s typical of our club to deal with someone like that.”
Le Milliere said he was fairly sure the fan visited the fan-run bar, The Famous Exeter City Real Ale and Cider Emporium, on Tuesday. “A lot of visiting fans ask us why their clubs don’t have something like this.”
Some have wondered if an apostrophe caused the error. St James’ Park in Newcastle has one; Exeter’s is St James Park.
Veteran Exeter fan Clive Edmonds-Brown said: “The poor guy’s heart must have sunk. It’s a shame he didn’t bring the Barcelona team with him.”
Another fan, Karen Blundell, said: “I’m surprised I didn’t see all the home fans wearing red and white instead of Newcastle United’s black and white. It was a little schoolboy mistake.”
But Spencer can sympathize. By coincidence, he visited Barcelona last weekend, booked a guided tour of the club’s Camp Nou and got lost along the way. “I took the wrong metro. I was wrong, but obviously not as wrong as him. I didn’t end up in the north of Spain.”
