Barcelona’s president, Joan Laporta, said he was “embarrassed and ashamed” after a reported 30,000 Eintracht Frankfurt fans made it into the Camp Nou for Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final despite away fans being allocated only 5,000 tickets.
Barca were sensationally knocked out of the competition by the German club after the winger Filip Kostic scored twice in a 3-2 victory that enabled Eintracht to advance 4-3 on aggregate to a semi-final against West Ham. Barcelona were expecting huge backing at the stadium but ESPN reported there were close to 30,000 Eintracht fans among the 79,468 crowd.
Frankfurt’s Filip Kostic doubles up to dump Barcelona out of Europa LeagueRead more
“Frankly what happened today makes me feel embarrassed and ashamed,” Laporta told Barça TV. “There were many fans of the other team and not many of ours. I’m very sorry for what has happened.
“What we can avoid are certain situations but as of now, we will have to be much more strict. We can’t allow these situations to happen.”
Xavi Hernández called the situation a “miscalculation” and said it did not help his side, who suffered their first defeat in 16 matches in all competitions. “I’ve tried to tell the players that the important thing is what happens on the pitch, but logically this could have affected us; it’s very clear,” the coach said.
“We’ve tried to focus on the game and we’ve not been good. It has nothing to do with one thing and the other. It’s not an excuse. It hasn’t helped us, but on the pitch, we haven’t been good, and we haven’t competed.”
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West Ham and the Metropolitan police are confident that the right security arrangements will be in place when the Premier League club face Frankfurt. There is potential for trouble after West Ham and Frankfurt fans clashed when their sides played last-16 ties in Seville during the same week last month. But West Ham are not worried about away fans buying tickets in the home end when the first leg takes place at the London Stadium on Thursday week.
The club expect most home tickets to sell out to season-ticket holders. Appropriate security measures will be in operation.
