Wherever there is fun, Newcastle fans are there! Tens of thousands of them invaded Barça, showing antics of climbing palm trees to retrieve balls, which went viral ahead of the UCL match Barcelona vs Newcastle.
On 19 Mar 2026 GMT+7, the actions of Newcastle United supporters went viral, overshadowing the match itself. Over 10,000 fans traveled to Spain for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg against Barcelona, although only about 3,000 had actual tickets to the stadium.
The wild antics unfolded at Placa de Catalunya square in central Barcelona, where a group of Newcastle fans reacted after their football got stuck atop a towering palm tree. Instead of ignoring it, they gathered and chanted cheekily, "We want our ball back! We want our ball back!"
They sent representatives to climb and frantically shook the palm tree to retrieve the ball and continue playing. Not only that, some fans got carried away and jumped into the fountain in the open square.
However, the on-field result was far less entertaining. Newcastle United could not withstand the home side’s strength and suffered a heavy 2-7 defeat to Barcelona. With a 3-8 aggregate loss over two legs, Newcastle’s UEFA Champions League journey ended at the Round of 16. Yet, the memorable scenes created by their fanbase left a lasting colorful impression across Europe.