A Barcelona supporter's navigation error turned into an unexpected adventure when he arrived at the wrong St James' Park for the Champions League match against Newcastle United, ending up 366 miles from where his team was playing.
The Spanish fan, who had travelled from London expecting to watch Barcelona take on Newcastle in the first leg of the last-16 tie, instead found himself at the turnstiles of Exeter City's St James Park, home of the League One side.
It was only when he presented his ticket to staff that the mix-up became apparent. Rather than turning him away, Exeter staff took pity on his plight and provided him with a ticket for their match against Lincoln City.
“One of our volunteers came to the office to let us know that this guy had turned up expecting to see FC Barcelona,” said Adam Spencer, Exeter’s supporter experience officer. “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.”
While the Barça fan watched Exeter lose 1-0 to the league leaders, Barcelona salvaged a 1-1 draw in Newcastle after Lamine Yamal netted a penalty with the final kick of the first leg.
