Newport close ticket office after suffering ‘appalling abuse’

Remaining tickets for the club’s first ever meeting with United were only made available online

Newport County closed their ticket office ahead of their FA Cup clash with Manchester United after staff at the Welsh club suffered “appalling abuse and threatening behaviour”.
The remaining tickets for the League Two minnows’ first ever meeting with their Premier League visitors were only made available for purchase online ahead of Sunday’s fourth-round tie at Rodney Parade.
Newport also warned those guilty of such behaviour in future would face stadium bans and legal action.
“Unfortunately, this decision has been made after the appalling abuse and threatening behaviour the ticket office and support staff received during the priority purchase period on Thursday,” the club said in a statement.
“The club will not condone this behaviour towards any member of its staff and will employ a zero-tolerance policy going forward which may result in stadium bans or legal action.
“The club’s small pool of staff has worked extremely hard across long hours in recent weeks to organise the two sell-out games against Wrexham and Manchester United.
“The club would like to thank them for their dedication and commitment.”
A crowd of around 10,000 is expected on Sunday after Newport increased Rodney Parade’s 7,850 capacity by erecting a temporary stand behind one of the goals.
Providing an update on Monday, Newport said on X, formerly Twitter: “We can confirm that all tickets for our FA Cup clash with Manchester United have now sold out. Thank you for your fantastic support.”
Manager Graham Coughlan has called the visit of 12-time cup winners United the “biggest game” in the club’s history.
The in-form Exiles, who stand to make £400,000 from Sunday’s televised tie, extended their unbeaten run to seven games on Saturday by beating Welsh rivals Wrexham 1-0 at home.
They currently lie 14th in the League Two table, five points adrift of the division’s final play-off spot.