Barcelona tightens ticket controls to prevent another Frankfurt takeover

"When Eintracht Frankfurt arrive at the Camp Nou next Tuesday, the atmosphere in Barcelona will not just be shaped by UEFA Champions League stakes. It will also carry the weight of a memory the club has spent more than three years trying to bury. The infamous night in April 2022, when tens of thousands of visiting supporters flooded the Camp Nou with white shirts and celebrated a Europa League triumph on Barça's home turf, remains a painful episode for the Catalan club's fanbase. Local media at the time called it everything from a "historical embarrassment" to a "lamentable" failure of management, and many supporters still recall the feeling that their own stadium had been taken over."

"Club president Joan Laporta also expressed the dismay felt inside the institution. He admits he still wants to avoid anything reminiscent of that evening. Speaking at an event this week, he said: "I don't want to have the feeling we had during that game in 2022. It's a horrific memory, the stadium full of opposition shirts." The board has faced renewed scrutiny in recent weeks. A technical glitch in the club's ticketing system during a match against Alavés affected more than 7,000 members, many of whom were unable to enter the stadium on time despite having paid for their seats. Meanwhile, tourists and non-members who had purchased tickets without issue were already inside for the opening minutes. The incident left another mark on the club's reputation and sharpened fan concerns about ticketing controls."

Barcelona faces renewed urgency over stadium control ahead of the Eintracht Frankfurt match, driven by the memory of tens of thousands of visiting supporters celebrating a Europa League win at Camp Nou in April 2022. The 2022 episode is remembered as a major embarrassment and a takeover of the stadium by opposition fans. Club president Joan Laporta described the memory as horrific and said he wants to avoid a repeat. A recent ticketing glitch that prevented over 7,000 members from entering intensified scrutiny. The club has restricted available seats exclusively to members to safeguard supporter safety.

Read at Barca Blaugranes