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6 months ago
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Newcastle United have been accused of ripping off disgruntled football fans after the Premier League side were embarrassed 8-0 by a second-string A-League All Stars squad on Friday night.
Two days after playing Tottenham in Melbourne, the Magpies fielded an under-21s squad at Marvel Stadium - and were left red-faced.
The hosts ran riot, with goals from Wellington Phoenix's Ben Old, Western Sydney Wanderers young gun Nicolas Milanovic and A-League golden boot winner Adam Taggart making it 3-0 at halftime.
Patrick Kisnorbo's side were even more ruthless in the second half, finding the back of the net on five more occasions.
Supporters understandably felt short-changed - and given some tickets cost up to $700, paying to watch Premier League stars and instead seeing youth team players was unacceptable in the eyes of many.
Newcastle United have been accused of ripping off football fans after the Premier League side (right) were embarrassed 8-0 by a second-string A-League All Stars squad
Two days after playing Tottenham in Melbourne, the Magpies - and manager Eddie Howe (pictured) fielded an under-21s squad at Marvel Stadium
Plenty of Newcastle fans - both based in Australia and travelling from around the world - were embarrassed at the fulltime score
What many football fans didn't know was that many of Newcastle's first team stars flew out of Australia on Wednesday following the 1-1 draw with Spurs at the MCG (pictured, a youthful Newcastle XI)
'Embarrassing levels of disrespect. Fly halfway around the world. Pocket the cheque and play the B Team,' one fan wrote on Newcastle's page on X at fulltime.
Another posted sarcastically: 'the future is bright.'
A third simply weighed in with: 'embarrassing.'
And in a telling insult, San Marino - the whipping boys of world football given their record of one win and nine draws from 203 matches as a nation - mocked the Magpies on social media.
They cheekily posted in response to the result: 'We want to play against you. We have similar levels.'
What many football fans didn't know was that many of Newcastle's first team stars flew out of Australia following the 1-1 draw with Spurs at the MCG on Wednesday night.
The likes of Lewis Hall, Elliot Anderson and England's Kieran Trippier stayed on local soil - but wisely took no part in Friday's match.
Thankfully for fans decked out in black and white, the shocking result won't enter the record books.
That dubious honour followed a 9-0 loss to Burton Wanderers on April 15 in 1895 - three years after the club was founded.
It comes as the two post season friendlies arranged for the Magpies - part of Global Football Week in Melbourne - endured widespread criticism.
Former Newcastle legend Alan Shearer described it as pure 'madness'.
England manager Gareth Southgate, who has named Trippier in his provisional Euro 2024 squad, described the friendlies as 'not good news.'
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