Newcastle cancel school’s tickets for Champions League game against Barcelona
High School of Dundee’s 45 tickets revoked after club says they came from unauthorised resale; season-ticket holders involved have had access cancelled without refund
Newcastle United has cancelled 45 tickets purchased by the High School of Dundee for the club’s Champions League home match against Barcelona at St James’ Park on Sept. 18, saying the seats were the result of unauthorised resale and that the associated season tickets have been revoked.
A school spokesman said the High School of Dundee bought the tickets "in good faith" after being "approached". The tickets were for a school group nearly 200 miles from Newcastle.
Newcastle said it understood the tickets had been sold via unauthorised re-selling and that the relevant season tickets held by the original purchasers had been cancelled "with immediate effect and without refund." The club added: "These tickets will be made available to Newcastle United supporters through the club's existing ticket sale process."
Lisa Mole, chair of the Newcastle United Supporters Trust, said supporters had been "stung" by the incident. The cancellation came days after an online queue for the remaining tickets for the Barcelona fixture attracted about 110,000 people, highlighting strong demand for the match.
Club officials said the 45 tickets will be returned to the club's official resale and sale channels so that genuine supporters can access them. The school has been informed of the cancellation and club representatives have been in contact, according to statements from both parties.
The Champions League fixture is one of Newcastle’s highest-profile home matches of the season and has drawn widespread attention from supporters and neutral observers alike. Clubs typically restrict resale of tickets to club-authorised platforms or fan-to-fan exchanges approved by the club; unauthorised resale can breach ticketing terms and has previously led to sanctions including season-ticket cancellations.
The development underscores ongoing challenges for clubs in policing ticketing markets for marquee fixtures, where demand far exceeds supply. Newcastle’s decision to cancel the season tickets tied to the unauthorised sales and to reallocate the seats through official channels reflects the club’s enforcement of its ticketing policies.
The High School of Dundee said it purchased the tickets for educational and community purposes and is liaising with the club to resolve matters. Newcastle United confirmed the tickets would be offered to supporters through the club’s established processes and did not indicate any immediate change to the stance that the season tickets involved would not be refunded.
Further details, including whether any additional sanctions will be applied to those who sold the tickets and how the club will prioritise allocation of the recovered seats, have not been disclosed.