Sunderland fans 'speechless' at club's Newcastle-themed banners for FA Cup tie
Sunderland let their bitter rivals Newcastle United redecorate parts of the Stadium of Light ahead of their FA Cup tie - and the Black Cats have now issued a grovelling apology to their furious fans
Sunderland made a grovelling apology to their furious fans after letting Newcastle United give sections of their beloved Stadium of Light a black and white themed makeover.
Newcastle United took over Sunderland's £600 corporate area ahead of their FA Cup clash on Saturday (January 5), decking it out with banners declaring "we are United", "keep the black and white flying high" and even "cheer up" - a nod to the Toon song: "Cheer up Peter Reid, oh what can it mean, to a sad Mackem b****** and a s*** football team".
After the staggering images leaked online, a Newcastle insider confirmed they were genuine and put up to make the place more welcoming for visiting Toon fans. That provoked a massive backlash from Sunderland supporters, before the club ordered the black and white branding to be taken down again.
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In a statement, the Championship club said: "Sunderland AFC acknowledges that a serious error in judgement was made in relation to Black Cats Bar earlier this afternoon. We apologise to our fans for the understandable concern they have fairly voiced in response and this sentiment is shared by the club's ownership group and board of directors, who have requested an immediate review is undertaken to determine how this process unfolded.
"A direct decision has also been taken by the ownership group and board of directors to return the space to its original state and we once again apologise to our supporters that this was not addressed sooner."
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One fuming Sunderland supporter demanded: "Sack the board." On football forum @RokerReport, the overwhelming majority of fans were outraged, with one making their sentiments very clear, posting: "I'm absolutely appalled."
A disgruntled Sunderland fan also messaged Sky Sports presenter and club director Dave Jones, saying: "Do me a favour pal, tell Kyril (Louis Dreyfus, the owner) I want a straightener. F***ing minging this." Another fan said: "An embarrassing shambles of a decision and the supporters have a right to know whose decision it was to green light it."
Newcastle supporters inevitably seized the opportunity to mock their rivals ahead of Saturday's match. One fan posted: "Rolling out the red carpet for North East royalty." Another wrote: "What a sweet gesture, cheers lads. We coming out to the Blaydon Races for KO too?"
The move has added further fuel to the fire ahead of the Tyne-Wear derby, as around 6,000 Newcastle fans will be escorted to Wearside in a police convoy on Saturday, taking over an entire end at the stadium. This has angered Sunderland season ticket holders, who were moved from their usual seats for the match.
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