Soccer team makes mom buy $60 game ticket for her baby
MADRID -- A Spanish woman is fuming after soccer club Barcelona made her pay $60 for a match ticket for her 10-month-old baby even though the seat wouldn't be used.
In a letter to El Periodico newspaper this week, Roso Castellsagues related how she and friends bought six tickets to watch Barcelona play on Aug. 17, but stadium officials told her the baby daughter also needed one.
She said she had to buy another ticket - located elsewhere in the stadium - which went unused.
"Is this the way for the club to take care of its fans?" she questioned.
The club said Friday the incident was unfortunate. Barcelona said that normally club members' children are given free entrance, but for the match in question every fan needed a ticket.
According to the Washington Post, the ticket policy for young children stems from the team's safety measures to ensure the stadium doesn't exceed its capacity.
"It's an unpopular decision, but we're taking this decision as an exercise in responsibility," officials said in a 2013 press release. "We prefer to take pre-emptive measures before regretting any misfortunes."