Nick Woltemade of Newcastle United celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers at St James' Parkplaceholder image
Nick Woltemade of Newcastle United celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers at St James' Park | Getty Images
The High School of Dundee had planned a trip for pupils to see Newcastle United play FC Barcelona but their tickets have been cancelled following a fan backlash.
Furious Newcastle United fans have forced their club to cancel match day tickets given to Scottish school pupils after a “baffling” spat broke out.
The High School of Dundee secured 45 tickets for youngsters to watch the Magpies take on FC Barcelona in the sold-out Champions League tie.
Teenagers from the fee-paying school were set too travel to St James’ Park on Thursday for the game - until an intervention from Newcastle United Supporters Trust.
The fans group said it had been “inundated” with complaints from unhappy Newcastle fans who had failed to secure tickets.
Now Newcastle United has cancelled the school’s tickets, saying there had been a “breach of season ticket terms and conditions” by a third party.
The High School of Dundee is also understood not to have been offered a refund for the match day passes.
A letter offering the football match trip to parents shows the full cost of going to the game to be £295, including return travel to Newcastle, meals and accommodation.
A Newcastle United spokesman confirmed the move and said tickets have been reallocated to fans.
Supporters were also urged to contact the club’s customer services if they suspect any unauthorised reselling.
“Newcastle United has cancelled a number of tickets for the UEFA Champions League match with FC Barcelona due to a breach of season ticket terms and conditions,” he said.
“These tickets will be made available to Newcastle United supporters through the club’s existing ticket sale process.”
It is understood that Dundee’s Harris Academy and St John’s RC High School also purchased ticket packages.
However, it is unclear whether these have also been cancelled.
A newsletter on the Harris Academy website details that the secondary school was running an overnight excursion which included a trip to the football match.
A spokeswoman for the High School of Dundee confirmed the tickets had been cancelled.
She said: “This afternoon we were informed by the approved provider that the tickets have been cancelled.”
The school said it “was approached by an approved provider” and that the tickets were booked as part of a group package.
A post on X, which has been viewed more than a million times, sparked the backlash from fans.
It detailed how High School of Dundee pupils had been offered tickets and shared a copy of a letter sent to parents.
The post from NUST reads: “With >100k in today’s member sale queue and countless tickets on 3rd party sites at vastly inflated prices, we completely understand the ongoing frustration from our members and the wider fanbase.
“We have sent this to the club and continue to push for a response.”
In follow up to the news the club had cancelled The High School of Dundee’s tickets, the NUST issued a statement saying: “Newcastle United Supporters Trust are happy to hear from the club that a number of tickets in breach of season ticket terms and conditions for the game versus FC Barcelona have been cancelled and made available to supporters via the club’s ticketing site.”
The fan group went on to praise the club for taking “visible action to deter and penalise those who may be profiteering from other fans, or in this baffling case, a number of school pupils from Dundee.”
The statement highlighted that reduced ticket availability due to high demand, as well as the sale of tickets through third party sides or unauthorised means was one of the “biggest concerns” for fans, with the situation “highlighting frustrations once again”.
The statement adds: “Ticketing can be a divisive subject but we feel united in the stance that tickets belong in the hands of genuine Newcastle United supporters and thank the club for their approach to those who misuse the system.
“We will continue to request transparency across all ticketing procedures.”