NUFC has terminated in excess of 100 membership cards and apologised to supporters for an “unfortunate mistake” following passes sold to travel companies in the past were “not detected until recently”
Newcastle United have taken action after a detailed investigation into the illegal re-selling of tickets for fixtures at St James' Park.
This follows after a educational institution almost 200 miles away managing to purchase tickets for the highly sought-after Champions League fixture against Barcelona this week.
Newcastle United explained that when the new owners assumed control in 2020, they ended agreements with third parties that permitted them to sell tickets.
Among these was the deal agreed a decade ago with a small group of tour organisers “for the benefit of school groups” - but the club did not realise they were still distributing tickets because there was no active contract with the organisers.
“During a period when we are striving to safeguard proper access for Newcastle United fans, we want to be clear and apologise for this error,” the club said.
Forty-five tickets for the game were acquired by the educational institution in the coinciding time that over one hundred thousand fans had been in an online queue for the leftover seats for the highly anticipated fixture.
An official for the school said they bought them believing they were legitimate, after being “reached out to” by a agent, but the tickets were later voided by the club.
The club have now terminated a overall of 103 annual passes in recent days for breaking terms and conditions.
Officials states the latest situation is separate from fans reselling their tickets for home games in “this situation”.
External groups acquired the passes in the 2015/16 campaign.
United emphasised that the ongoing usage and unauthorised resale of season tickets at a “higher package price” was remained undetected because there was “no official agreement in place for the tour groups”.
“Upon being made aware of this issue, the club took prompt steps,” a statement read.
“Newcastle United have not collected any money above the original price of these season tickets and have promptly made available the seats for sale to fans who have entered the random draw for future fixtures.”
A fan group recently “welcomed” the club “acting decisively to deter and punish those who may be exploiting from other fans”.
“Along with the increase in entry fees, as per our recent poll, one of the primary concerns for Newcastle fans is limited ticket availability as a result of, not only massive interest, but the distribution of tickets through external channels or further improper methods,” it added recently.
