On paper, our upcoming game against Barcelona in the Champions League is one of the biggest matches in our recent history: welcoming the most potent goalscoring side on the continent with the best young player on the planet in their ranks.

And it’s no surprise that it’s become the hottest ticket in town. Over 110,000 Mags Members were unsuccessful in getting tickets for the biggest game since March’s Carabao Cup final.

So when it emerged that a private school in Dundee had arranged a trip down for Thursday night’s game, having bought tickets through a third party reseller, it caused uproar with the fanbase that eventually saw the tickets cancelled, and confirmed many fans fears over just how hard it is to get a ticket to watch the team is nowadays.

And the fiasco continues to unfold, as an internal investigation and statement by the club has shed light on just how rampant the business of unauthorised ticket re-selling has become inside St James’ Park.

Newcastle announce massive season ticket ban

The club has confirmed that it has cancelled 103 season tickets after an investigation uncovered these tickets were owned by a “small number of tour organisers” which sold ticket experiences to the likes of private schools.

In a statement released on Monday evening, the club outlined its commitment to keeping the ticketing process fair and accessible, with criticism from within the fanbase growing and growing over the current ballot and points systems.

The statement reads “Following further investigation into unauthorised re-selling of tickets for matches at St. James’ Park, we have now cancelled a total of 103 season tickets in recent days for breaching terms and conditions.”

“Agreements shortly after the club’s change in ownership in 2021, including some hospitality sales and a small allocation of match tickets for a former commercial partner.”

“However, with no formal contract in place for the tour groups, the continued use and unauthorised resale of their season tickets at a higher package price was not detected until recently.”

“Upon being made aware of this issue, the club took immediate action.”

“At a time when we are doing our utmost to protect legitimate access for Newcastle United fans, we want to be fully transparent and apologise for this oversight.”

“The club has not received any funds above the face value price of these season tickets and has immediately returned the seats for sale to supporters who have entered the official ballot for upcoming fixtures.”

Is there any way back for the current ticket process?

This incident surrounding the Barcelona game is just the latest in a growing list of grievances our fans have had with the club’s approach to tickets, hospitality and overall treatment of the supporter base.

The decision to ban the 103 season tickets that have breached the terms and conditions will be overwhelmingly welcomed, as it actually shows the club takes the matter seriously.

Current Chelsea owner Todd Boehly is a director and investor of the company Vivid Ticket, which has been considered an ‘unauthorised ticket reseller’ by the Premier League itself, which shows it’s becoming an ever-growing issue with no signs of going away any time soon.

So what can the current ownership do, if anything, to try and further restore some faith in their handling of the ticketing process?

The fact it has taken nearly ten years for just these resellers to be identified, addressed and dealt with could open its own Pandora’s box where the club does a thorough deep dive into the list of season ticket holders at the club and does all it can to make sure these tickets are back in the hands of the Toon Army faithful.

This could be an excellent opportunity for new CEO David Hopkinson to win over the fans as well: transparency and honesty even over something so contentious like ticket sales will always be appreciated.