A crazy case of mistaken identity saw a Barcelona fan turn up in Exeter instead of Newcastle to watch a match at the wrong St James Park.
The Spanish supporter was excited at the prospect of travelling to watch his team in Champions League combat against Eddie Howe's Premier League outfit in the Round of 16. But a major navigation mishap saw him set off from London on Tuesday for the big match and arrive in Devon instead of Tyneside. He only discovered his error upon reaching the turnstiles at Exeter City's single-tier stadium which has room for 8,200 fans.
It was not a totally wasted journey. He still managed to catch a match as Exeter City staff kindly provided him with a ticket for the League One encounter against Lincoln City beneath the floodlights of St James Park as opposed to the 52,000 all-seater St James' Park in Newcastle.
Turnstiles at St James Park, Exeter
The turnstiles at St James Park, Exeter where the Barcelona fan realised he may be at the wrong ground (Image: Kieran McManus/Shutterstock)
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Adam Spencer, Supporter Experience Officer at Exeter City, explained: "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."
View of Exeter City's St James Park shortly before their League One match against Lincoln
View of Exeter City's St James Park shortly before their League One match against Lincoln (Image: Kieran McManus/Shutterstock)
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The Barcelona supporter failed to bring the home side any luck as they went down 1-0 to Lincoln. But he did get to see both sets of players involved in a brawl at the full-time whistle.
Still he was rightly gutted to have missed out on some late drama 366miles away at the other St James', as Newcastle and Barcelona battled out a 1-1 draw in their Champions League clash.
Fireworks go off above a single tier stand at Newcastle's St James' Park
View of Newcastle's St James' Park shortly before their Champions League match against Barcelona (Image: Iain Buist/Newcastle Chronicle)
He missed Harvey Barnes give Newcastle a late lead before Lamine Yamal equalised from the penalty spot with the last kick of the game.
Just imagine missing out on seeing that.