Although the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 has not yet kicked off, Newcastle United fans have already set off a ticket rush for the second leg away to Barcelona, planning a large-scale expedition to the Catalan capital.
With nearly two weeks to go until the second leg of the Champions League round of 16, and even the first leg not yet played, Newcastle fans have already taken action in advance. They believe the team has a chance to pull off an upset and eliminate Hansi Flick’s Barcelona, advancing to the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in history, so they are unwilling to miss any details.
It is foreseeable that St James’ Park will be packed to capacity for the first leg next Tuesday. Newcastle hope to use the home atmosphere to create an advantage for the team. What is more eye-catching, however, is the away arrangement.
According to reports, after communicating with Barcelona, Newcastle learned that the initial allocation of away tickets for the visiting team is 2,215. But after the club announced the away travel plan, the number of applications far exceeded expectations. Newcastle internal sources said that so far, more than 10,000 applications to travel to Barcelona to watch the game have been received, and the application channel is still open. The match will be held at 18:15 on March 18.
Due to the demand far exceeding the quota, Newcastle has contacted Barcelona again to inquire about the actual available capacity for the second leg. British media reported that Barcelona stated that it will comply with UEFA relevant regulations, and the away fan quota can be increased to a maximum of 3,100.
Newcastle fans have made their attitude clear — no matter how many tickets there are, they will travel to Barcelona to cheer for the team. As for the final number of tickets to be sold to the public, and how to arrange the fans who plan to go without tickets, it has not yet been confirmed. Usually, when there is a large-scale away fan trip, the local police and security departments will formulate a special security plan to uniformly manage fans with or without tickets.
It is worth mentioning that Newcastle is currently in a relatively sensitive stage, with a virus outbreak in the team, which has had a certain impact on preparations.