Newcastle United have cancelled over 100 season tickets following an investigation into reselling.placeholder image
Newcastle United have cancelled over 100 season tickets following an investigation into reselling. | Getty Images
Newcastle United have issued an official statement apologising for the unauthorised resale of tickets for matches at St James’ Park.
Newcastle United have cancelled 103 season tickets over the past week following an investigation into unauthorised ticket re-sales for matches at St James’ Park.
The club has issued a statement apologising to supporters for an ‘oversight’ that has resulted in match tickets being sold via third-party tour organisers since 2015.
The issue was brought to light when supporters hit out at The High School of Dundee advertising an ‘incredible experience’ for 45 of its students to attend Newcastle’s Champions League match against Barcelona on Thursday night. The £295 experience included travel, food, accommodation and a coveted match ticket.
Given the significant demand for tickets, with over 110,000 supporters queuing virtually for the member sale last week, a Dundee school based almost 200 miles away getting hold of prime tickets raised serious questions.
The club responded by cancelling the tickets in question and the season tickets linked to them, which prompted a further investigation.
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Newcastle United issue official statement following investigation
A club statement read: “Following further investigation into unauthorised re-selling of tickets for matches at St. James' Park, we have now cancelled a total of 103 season tickets in recent days for breaching terms and conditions.
“This instance does not relate to individual supporters re-selling their tickets, but to a batch of season tickets sold to a small number of tour organisers during the 2015/16 season for the benefit of school groups.
“The club terminated any third-party ticket provider agreements shortly after the club's change in ownership in 2021, including some hospitality sales and a small allocation of match tickets for a former commercial partner.
“However, with no formal contract in place for the tour groups, the continued use and unauthorised resale of their season tickets at a higher package price was not detected until recently.
“Upon being made aware of this issue, the club took immediate action.
“At a time when we are doing our utmost to protect legitimate access for Newcastle United fans, we want to be fully transparent and apologise for this oversight.
“The club has not received any funds above the face value price of these season tickets and has immediately returned the seats for sale to supporters who have entered the official ballot for upcoming fixtures.
“Supporters who suspect unauthorised reselling are urged to send relevant information to [email protected].”
Report claims NUFC were ‘aware’ of ticket re-sale
Newcastle’s statement followed a Daily Mail article claiming the club were aware season tickets were being resold to Scottish schools by third-party tour operators at marked-up prices.
While the club’s ticketing and security operation knew about the arrangement since 2015, it was not flagged following the 2021 takeover of the club which brought with it significantly increased ticket demand.
The report adds that at least 100 season tickets were sold to Scottish tour operators, Premiership Experience and PE5 Sports Tours and resold for every home game, predominantly to non-Newcastle supporters.
The practice breaches Newcastle’s own terms and conditions for ticket resale. While the club have clamped down on genuine supporters sharing tickets between one another, with added measures now in place, this particular breach had gone unchecked.
Newcastle have now acted and cancelled the tickets in question; supporters will be hoping to see the start of greater transparency over the club’s ticketing process, with genuine fans being prioritised and the unofficial resale of tickets at inflated prices being brought to an end.
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