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Barcelona fan swaps Champions League tie for Exeter match after stadium mix-up
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal scores their side's first goal of the game from the penalty are during the UEFA Champions League round of sixteen, first leg match at St James' Park, Newcastle, March 10, 2026

A SPANISH football fan accidentally swapped an evening of Champions League football in Newcastle for a League One clash in Exeter, following a stadium mix-up.

Having planned to watch Barcelona’s last-16 first-leg clash against the Magpies, the supporter found himself at St James Park rather than St James’ Park — a miscalculation of around 366 miles, or six-and-a-half hours on the road.

In a post shared on X, the Grecians revealed the individual had made the journey from Devon in the hope of seeing the likes of Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski and helped arrange a ticket for their third-tier fixture against Lincoln.

While Yamal was busy slotting home a dramatic injury-time equaliser on Tyneside, the fan was watching the table-topping Imps wrap up three points, thanks to Tom Hamer’s first-time effort.

Exeter’s supporter experience officer Adam Spencer said: “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.”

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