Imagine travelling all the way across the continent to reach the World Cup and realizing that you left your match ticket at home.
Millions of football fans traveled to Russia earlier this month to witness the 21st FIFA World Cup, but one particular fan from England made the trip only to return disappointed.
A man known only as Douglas had flown to Russia only to find out that he had left his ticket back home minutes before the match between England and Panama.
His story circulated social media after he had encountered ITV news editor Dan Howells in a hotel in Volgograd.
This is Douglas. He was at our hotel in Volgograd. We’ve just bumped in to him in Nizhny Novgorod & he’s realised he’s left his match tickets in the drawer at home in Bristol. If anyone’s got a spare one let me know. #EngPan pic.twitter.com/4zDA5aNvZa
— Dan H?? (@dan_howells) June 23, 2018
Douglas had left his ticket back in Bristol, UK, but Howells was determined to find him another ticket and called on fellow England fans for help.
He shared a picture of himself with Douglas and told the world his story. The tweet quickly gained attention and dozens of people took up interest and tried their best to help.
It wasn’t long before his problem seemed to be solved, when Dan tweeted that he had found Douglas a ticket with the help of @Sport_Options.
This is Douglas. He was at our hotel in Volgograd. We’ve just bumped in to him in Nizhny Novgorod & he’s realised he’s left his match tickets in the drawer at home in Bristol. If anyone’s got a spare one let me know. #EngPan pic.twitter.com/4zDA5aNvZa
— Dan H?? (@dan_howells) June 23, 2018
When things seemed to be working out, Douglas was up against another problem. With a ticket secured, Howells had to find Douglas to give him his ticket, but he was nowhere to be found.
I’m afraid he only got back to his hotel 40 mins before kick off. Couldn’t get to the stadium in time to pick the ticket up.
— Dan H?? (@dan_howells) June 24, 2018
The match began and Douglas was still nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately for him, England went on to secure one of their biggest wins in World Cup history, winning 5-0 over Panama.
Well, for what it’s worth, we wish that Douglas still had a good time and enjoyed the match no matter where he ended up watching it.
