Antoine Semenyo signing autographs in the Newcastle United end, with a Manchester City shirt (bottom left) pitcured.placeholder image
Antoine Semenyo signing autographs in the Newcastle United end, with a Manchester City shirt (bottom left) pitcured. | FA Cup
Antoine Semenyo was pictured signing autographs in the Newcastle United end on Saturday night.
Newcastle United have promised that ticketing processes were “adhered to” ahead of the FA Cup defeat to Manchester City.
Chaos arose when the competition’s official social media handle posted a clip of Antoine Semenyo - a former Sunderland player - approaching supporters in the lower Milburn Stand. Despite being the home section, one onlooker appears to be a City fan - holding a replica shirt for the winger to sign.
This has angered Newcastle supporters online amid the ticketing climate at St James’ Park. Just 24 hours earlier, new CEO David Hopkinson announced price hikes across the board for next season.
Newcastle United’s militant approach
Since the Saudi-backed takeover, attending matches has become tougher, with the club taking a militant approach on resale sites and distributing tickets away from the official “transfer” system. Following the introduction of digital tickets, long gone are the days when fans - often strangers - could meet on a matchday to solve a last-minute crisis.
However, this bold action has not prevented several high-profile controversies. In September, Newcastle banned 109 season tickets and apologised to fans for an "oversight" that saw packages sold to a school in Scotland.
The high demand, price increases and frequent banning, combined with balloting, away-system tweaks and atmosphere debates have created a firestorm over ticketing. The Semenyo incident is the latest in a long line of perceived injustices felt by Newcastle supporters.
Newcastle United respond to Antoine Semenyo incident
The Newcastle United Supporters Trust raised the issue to the club following the game. In response, Newcastle wrote: “Thanks for raising this. I appreciate the Trust bringing this to us directly. I completely understand why fans feel strongly about maintaining the integrity of home areas, just as we do.
“I’ve looked into the situation involving the individual seen with a Manchester City shirt. While I recognise how this appears, I do not yet know the circumstance or intent of the person involved but I can confirm our ticket sale processes were adhered to for this match.”
Wor Flags react
Posting on X, fan group Wor Flags wrote: “Fans are getting banned for asking their mates if they want their ticket for a game they can’t make yet this can happen so openly and no one bothers to step in to stop it. Not exactly a good look is it?”
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