<a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/barcelona/" target="_blank">Barcelona</a> president Joan Laporta announced that tickets for European games at the Camp Nou will be made non-transferable after a reported 30,000 Eintracht Frankfurt fans entered the venue for their Europa League game despite away fans only being allocated 5,000 tickets. Laporta said he was "embarrassed and ashamed" after Frankfurt fans flooded the Camp Nou, providing the perfect atmosphere as <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2022/04/14/barcelona-crushed-by-eintracht-frankfurt-in-europa-league-shock-in-pictures/" target="_blank">Barca were knocked out</a> of the competition after winger Filip Kostic scored twice in a 3-2 win that saw Eintracht advance 4-3 on aggregate. Of those who attended the game, the club said that 37,746 were season ticket holders, 5,000 tickets were in the away section and 34,440 had bought tickets through other means. "We insist that the 34,440 tickets that went on sale were tickets restricted to sale outside Germany," the club said on Friday. "The club did not sell tickets to German fans. Who bought those tickets, did so and passed them on to German fans, that is obvious." Laporta said Barcelona "is not guilty" for events leading to the tickets ending up in the hands of German fans. "However, we do assume the responsibility that falls to us," Laporta said. "We do not want this to happen again at Barca and we will take action: The measures that I can announce and that we have adopted are that for international competition, tickets will be non-transferable. "The club is not to blame for people breaking the rules, we applied all the measures we could to avoid it," he added. "But there are people who consider that they have to do it despite the damage to the club and the fans and members who came to support the team at Camp Nou." Manager Xavi Hernandez called the situation a "miscalculation" and said it did not help his side, who suffered their first defeat in 16 matches in all competitions. "I've tried to tell the players that the important thing is what happens on the pitch, but logically this could have affected us. It's very clear," Xavi said. "We've tried to focus on the game and we've not been good. It has nothing to do with one thing and the other. It's not an excuse," he added. There was more bad news for Barcelona. Midfielder Pedri's season may be over after the La Liga club said that the Spaniard had suffered a thigh injury, giving no timeline for his return. Pedri has been a crucial cog in Barca's midfield but Hernandez was forced to take the 19-year-old off at half-time against Eintracht Frankfurt. "Tests carried out this morning have confirmed that Pedri has a rupture in his left biceps femoris. He is out and his recovery will determine his availability," Barcelona said in a statement. According to Catalan media, the Spain international will likely be out for at least one month.
