Sunderland sorry after stadium bar gets Newcastle decor

Red-faced Before Saturday’s FA Cup game against Newcastle, a bar at the Stadium of Light was decked in the colors of the team’s bitter rivals. For this, Sunderland officials issued an apology for a “serious error in judgement”.

When pictures of the Black Cats Bar at the Wearside venue appeared on social media on Thursday, fans reacted angrily. The banners read “Keep the Black and White Flying High” and “We are United,” and the Geordie spelling of “Howay” in black had replaced Sunderland’s red motto “Ha’way the lads.”

The bar will act as a corporate hospitality area for visiting spectators, however the Sky Bet Championship club then released a statement announcing an immediate review and stating it would be repainted in its original livery prior to the third-round match.

The statement read, “Sunderland AFC acknowledges that a grave mistake in judgment was made earlier this afternoon about Black Cats Bar.

“The club’s ownership group and board of directors share our apology to the fans for the reasonable concerns they have expressed in response, and they have asked that an immediate investigation be conducted to ascertain how this process transpired.

“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.”

After some season ticket holders were reassigned from their regular seats to make room for 6,000 traveling Magpies supporters in the stadium’s North Stand, tensions among Black Cats supporters were already running high.

As the club was accused of putting out the welcome mat for their Tyneside rivals, the most recent development incited new resentment.

enduring fanzine On X, the previous Twitter, A Love Supreme stated: “I’m at a loss for words. How in the world is the club operating?

“Hopefully, unlike the club, the players won’t roll over and let the Mags tickle their stomach.

“I doubt the club realizes how big of a mistake it is to decorate the stadium with items from Newcastle. Any positive momentum they’ve gained from our on-field performance and our return to the Championship may really be lost, particularly if we lose on Saturday.”

The highly anticipated match will mark the first encounter between the northeast neighbors since a 1-1 Premier League tie at St. James’ Park in March 2016. In the interim, the clubs have followed somewhat different routes.

Following consecutive relegations from the top tier, Sunderland—who had won all six of their prior meetings—spent four seasons in League One, while Newcastle, who had been taken over by Amanda Staveley’s Saudi-backed group in October 2021, had been revitalized.

Later on Thursday night, Sunderland chairman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus personally apologized to the team’s supporters, stating that the pictures of the “inappropriate signs” had left him “disgusted and hurt”.

Louis-Dreyfus posted on Instagram, “I would like to apologise to everyone associated with Sunderland AFC for the events that have unfolded today.”

“Like our supporters, I was offended and offended by the images of the offensive signs that were torn down that went viral on the internet.

It is obvious that there are many areas in which we need to improve, so I personally promise that I will see to it that the essential improvements are made. I accept full responsibility for every choice made by the members of our club.

“I have got to know many of you personally over the past three years and I have always tried to act for the good of the people the club represents, which makes today even more disappointing.”