On Thursday 6th May I head over to France to see my local football (soccer) team
Newcastle United play Marseille in the semi final of the UEFA cup.
This is a major event for the city of Newcastle, having not won any trophies for some 30+ years now.
The problem is that we have only been allocated 3,000 tickets, and to my estimation there will be between 5,000 and 6,000 Newcastle fans heading over.
This causes the problem of appoximately 3,000 people without a ticket.
I am one of these people. As I see it I have 2 choices,
1) Obtain a ticket from a tout and pay at least 5 times the face value,
or
2) Watch the game in a bar in France.
The problem of violence breaking out is a realistic one, the Marseille fans didnt appear to be shy or quiet in Newcastle, and I can only see it being worse on their home turf.
We have booked this entire trip "un-officially" using low cost airlines (easy jet and ryanair) as supposed to using the clubs official transport (i.e. a total rip off).
My current excitement for the game is being diluted by feelings of anxiety over the trouble that may occur.