Barça's ticketing system fails and causes chaos
Many members ended up entering the stadium without an assigned ticket and without knowing where they should sit.
BarcelonaThe second match at the Spotify Camp Nou was marred by chaos due to a problem with the app from which members were supposed to download their tickets. An hour before kickoff, the tickets disappeared from the app, causing kilometer-long queues outside the Fan Services Office at the stadium. The club even asked La Liga to delay the start of the match, as thousands of fans were still queuing when the ball started rolling, but the league refused.
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"We've been queuing for 35 minutes and there's only one person helping people," said Marc, a club member who was whistling as he realized he'd miss the start of the match. The club explained that "the problem has been resolved by sending all members with tickets for today's game a PDF with their tickets," but many members still hadn't received anything, so in the end, they decided to allow members to enter, as soon as they could. "They checked my membership card and now we're not even sure where to sit, and we won't be able to sit together," said Roc, who ended up in a seat far from his father.
Some fans ended up sitting on the stadium steps, and security told them they had to move. Well into the first half, some fans were still complaining, as club staff had told them they had run out of paper to print tickets. The chaos led to chants against Joan Laporta's board and complaints from various pre-candidates in the upcoming elections, such as Víctor Font, in a match where away fans were allowed for the first time, with 470 Alavés supporters in attendance.