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Newcastle United has revoked over 100 season tickets and expressed regret to fans for an "oversight" that allowed tickets sold to tour operators a decade ago to go "unnoticed until recently."
The club's response follows a deeper investigation into the unauthorized reselling of tickets for events at St James' Park.
This action was prompted after a school situated nearly 200 miles away managed to purchase tickets for the highly sought-after Champions League home match against Barcelona on Thursday evening.
The club clarified that when the new ownership took charge four years prior, they ended the partnerships with third parties that had been permitted to sell tickets.
This included a ten-year-old agreement with a select group of tour operators "intended for school groups" – however, the club was unaware that these operators continued to sell tickets due to the absence of a formal contract.
"We wish to be completely transparent and apologize for this oversight, especially at a time when we are striving to safeguard legitimate access for Newcastle United supporters," the club stated.
The High School of Dundee acquired 45 tickets for the Barcelona match during the same month that approximately 110,000 fans were in a virtual queue competing for the limited seats for the eagerly awaited game.
A representative from the school explained that they bought the tickets in good faith after being "approached" by a provider, only for the club to later cancel them.
In recent days, Newcastle has terminated a total of 103 season tickets due to violations of terms and conditions.
The club emphasized that this recent issue does not pertain to individual fans reselling their tickets for St James' in "this case."
The tour operators had acquired the season tickets during the 2015-16 season.
United highlighted that the ongoing use and unauthorized resale of season tickets at a "higher package price" went unnoticed because "no formal contract existed for the tour groups."
"Upon being notified of this matter, the club took swift action," a statement confirmed.
"The club has not received any amount exceeding the face value of these season tickets and has promptly returned the seats to supporters who entered the official ballot for upcoming matches."
The Newcastle United Supporters' Trust had earlier “welcomed” the club’s initiative to visibly act against those who might exploit fellow fans for profit.
"Alongside the increase in ticket prices, our annual survey indicates that one of the main concerns for Newcastle supporters is the diminished availability of tickets, attributed not only to intense demand but also to the resale of tickets through unauthorized platforms or other means," it stated last week.
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