Soccer-Swedish appeal court allows Magpies fan to add "Newcastle" to his name

A Swedish court has granted an appeal by a fan of English Premier League side Newcastle United to add the club to his name following a dispute with the country's authorities over his love for the team.

Rolf Corneliusson, a 54-year-old supporter from the island of Oeckeroe near Gothenburg, became a fan of the club as a child when his fisherman father brought home Newcastle's black and white kit from one of his many trips to England. His father then took him across the North Sea on his boat to see the Magpies draw 2-2 with Leeds United at St. James's Park, and the young boy became a die-hard fan.

Since then Corneliusson has seen Newcastle play more than 100 times, but his application to have "Newcastle" in his name was rejected by the tax authorities and the national registration office. Displaying some of the fighting spirit that his favourite club has sometimes lacked in the decades he has supported them, Corneliusson decided to take the matter to the court of appeal in Gothenburg.

On Monday he was granted permission by the court to change his name to Rolf Lennart Newcastle Corneliusson. "I didn't think it was going to go through, but if anyone should be named after a football club, it's me," he told local newspaper GT. (Editing by Christian Radnedge)

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