A Barca fan visits the wrong St. James park
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Reading Time: 2min | Wed. 11.03.26. | 22:04
The unnamed supporter ended up watching Exeter instead of Barcelona
Many older fans will remember the famous atmosphere from the British stadiums. When the big security reform happened and the stadiums became seating-only, a lot of that ‘fire’ was lost. Famous places like Anfield or Old Trafford are not that loud (apart from the club’s hymn at the start) anymore, but there are places in England where fans create that ‘old school’ atmosphere. Newcastle’s St. James Park is one of those places and Barcelona fans were more than happy to visit the iconic stadium as part of the Round of 16 first leg game in the Champions League. All but one. He made a big mistake.
🚨 Exeter City, an English League One club have confirmed that a Barça fan ended up at their stadium called St James Park instead of Newcastle's stadium for the game last night.
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) March 11, 2026
They were having a game at the time, so they gave him a ticket to watch their home match after… pic.twitter.com/DqmZvRfwsB
Being a football fan usually means, that among other things, you should be aware of other teams, leagues, places….and one Barcelona fan obviously didn’t care about those things and made an embarrassing and costly mistake. The unnamed Barcelona supporter was not there to witness the drama which unfolded at the St. James Park, where his team avoided defeat with a penalty in the 96th minute, because he was 600 kilometers away, looking at another game – at St. James Park. The name of the stadium is the same, but owners are very different. One is Newcastle, from the north-east of England, and the other is Exeter, at the southwest of England. One plays in the Premier League, the other in the third league. One played with Barcelona (1-1), the other with Lincoln (0-1).
But this fan got it all wrong and went in the wrong direction to watch the wrong game.
"One of our volunteers came to the office to let us know that this guy had turned up expecting to see FC Barcelona. His English wasn't great, but from what we could gather, he'd come from London. My guess is he'd put St James Park in his phone and then just followed the directions from there. He was pretty gutted and a bit embarrassed. So, we sorted him out a ticket and he got to watch a game at the real St James Park. He'd be welcome back any time" said Adam Spencer, supporter experience officer at Exeter.