New control and security protocol for high-risk matches

Today, FC Barcelona presented its Control and Security Protocol for fans of the visiting team, which will be put into operation in all matches that are considered high risk, starting with the upcoming clash on February 16 with Manchester United in the round of 16 of the Europa League.

The Club's vice-president and spokesperson, Elena Fort, presented the specific features of this protocol, aimed at increasing security at the stadium, protecting Barça members against any situations of risk and combating fraud and misuse of season tickets.

She began by recalling the situation against Eintracht Frankfurt last season. "We have been working for months on how to act to prevent events like those from happening again, and to prevent similar circumstances from occurring we have set up a protocol to do just that."

She made it clear that despite these security measures, "the Board of Directors still wants all season tickets and as many members as possible to attend matches and be able to fill the ground to support the team." 

Measures for controlling visiting fans

The main factor of this protocol is the comprehensive control of entrance by fans of the visiting team at all matches considered high risk. Hence, a series of modifications are being introduced in addition to the already established rules such as all tickets bearing the name of the holder and blocking sales to fans based in the country of origin by monitoring IPs and bank cards. Barça members are still able to buy tickets from any other country.

The new Protocol includes communication during the ticketing process, with messages indicating that tickets cannot be purchased by fans of the visiting team and that items and clothing expressing support for the away team will not be allowed in areas other than the designated ones. Fans will also be sent messages encouraging them to arrive in sufficient time and with all the documents ready.

For these matches, tickets will only be sold through the Club's website and cannot be purchased at the Spotify Camp Nou ticket office. Sales will be limited to a maximum of four tickets per transaction, instead of six.

Another characteristic of these high-risk matches is that there will be no children's tickets or children's passports, nor will senior passports be active.

Sale to all tour operators is limited to a maximum of 1000 tickets with specific access in a controlled area.

Season ticket transfer form

For the game with Manchester United, a new method for transferring season tickets is to be applied. To attend this Europa League match, season ticket users must be the actual holders and if they wish to transfer their season tickets to someone else, they must fill in a form with the details of the person who will use it for this match.

This form can be accessed through the following link:

The season ticket can be transferred to a member or a non-member. Once the assignment has been made, it will not be possible to recover or change the recipient, and access to the stadium will be in the name of the recipient.

To enter the stadium, the person who has received the season ticket must bring the form in printed or digital format, the membership card (theirs or the holder's), the season ticket card and their own national ID.

When entering the Spotify Camp Nou facilities, fans are advised to arrive in good time and have the documents ready to reduce the waiting time at the stadium entrance.

Entrance procedure for high-risk games

For high-risk games, entry procedures and resources are established with the following regulations:

- Access 21 for visiting fans only.
- Opening of access 21 for the opposing fans 2 hours before. For the rest of the fans it opens 1h and 30' before.
- Establishment of 25 access lanes for ticket validation, body searches, symbology, etc.
- Sectoring of access to segregate home and away supporters.
- 5% of seats to be used for segregation in the stands.
- Additional measures include the opening of all 187 access lanes into the stadium (187) and checking names of ticket bearers