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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Mark Brown North of England correspondent

Dortmund football bus scores own goal with Newcastle match parking fine

A parking enforcement officer places a ticket on the window of a yellow and black bus
The enforcement officer ‘said he didn’t follow football and the bus shouldn’t have been parked there’, said the Newcastle fan who filmed the incident. Photograph: @Memecastle_Utd

Pundits praised Borussia Dortmund for being well drilled and professional after their visit to Newcastle United this week but it has emerged that the German football team left with more than three Champions League points.

Dortmund also picked up a £50 parking fine after the team’s bus was spotted taking up six spaces on the seafront in Tynemouth.

Footage on social media shows an enforcement officer on Thursday sticking the ticket to the windscreen of the yellow and black Borussia Dortmund-emblazoned coach. One post is simply captioned: “Hahahahaha.”

North Tyneside council confirmed that the ticket was issued and joked that it might ask the Newcastle manager, Eddie Howe, and his players to collect the money in the return fixture.

A statement said: “Our civil enforcement officers are obliged to issue a ticket when a vehicle is parked in contravention to restrictions in place. We can confirm earlier today a £50 ticket was given to a bus parked on Grand Parade, Tynemouth. The charge will reduce to £25 if paid within 14 days.

“If it makes it easier for our visitors, we will have a word with Eddie and the lads to see if they can collect it for us on November 7 after they get their revenge in Dortmund.

“We hope the ticket and the grey north-east weather didn’t dampen their trip to our stunning coastline.”

Josh Valks, a Newcastle fan who filmed the incident, told ChronicleLive that he asked the traffic warden if he knew who the bus belonged to.

“He said he didn’t follow football, and the bus shouldn’t have been parked there and he put the ticket straight on the window,” he said.

Newcastle United had been firm favourites to beat Dortmund after a solid Champions League start in which they drew in Milan and secured a 4-1 home rout of Paris Saint-Germain. But a goal by Felix Nmecha means Newcastle are now third in their group.

Alan Shearer told the BBC’s Football Daily podcast that he thought Dortmund were professional, well drilled and deserved the win. “If Newcastle fans are honest, they probably didn’t deserve anything out of this game,” he said.

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