Kyril Louis-Dreyfus told Sunderland fans about Black Cats Bar debacle – and what’s next

Prior to Sunderland’s FA Cup match against Newcastle United, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus informed a gathering of the Sunderland fan collective that the club would be implementing “serious action” in response to the Black Cats Bar’s recent redecoration.

Additionally, the club chairman has pledged to keep supporters updated on the actions done in a “transparent” manner.

Long-standing off-field issues were the main topic of discussion when Louis-Dreyfus met with officials from the Red & White Army, the Branch Liaison Council, and the Senior Supporters’ Association. At the meeting, the Red & White Army group gave an opening statement in which they called the arrangements surrounding the cup tie a “complete mess” and threatened to sever ties with the club if several issues were not resolved.

Sunderland supporters were infuriated by the bar’s redecoration, which featured Newcastle United slogans displayed to welcome visiting supporters and garnered national attention. A’serious error of judgement’ was found during the preliminary stages of the probe, according to Louis-Dreyfus.

“KLD replied that stage one [of the investigation] had concluded and that a serious error of judgment has been identified,” the meeting minutes stated. KLD apologized and the Club stated that it must take action to make sure that this error never occurs again. The Club offers no justifications for this error. The same evening that the images of the Black Cats Bar were made public, a board meeting was called in emergency. According to KLD, the Club will be acting seriously, and the results will be shared as openly as feasible.”

The chairman refuted claims that the derby’s arrangements were made with financial gain in mind, as the minutes stated: “KLD emphasized that the distribution of money and ticket distribution was determined solely by competition regulations. According to the competition regulations, SAFC received a portion of the ticket sales. He came to the conclusion that it was a grave error and that the Club needed to take action to make sure it never occurred again.

Chief operating officer Steve Davison discussed the initial decision in greater depth, claiming that the club were unaware that the bar would be rebranded in Newcastle United colours and slogans.

The minutes said as follows: “SD clarified that the distribution and positioning of away fans was done without taking into account the sale of tickets to Newcastle supporters at the Black Cats Bar. But since Sunderland supporters were unable to access this area, it was decided to open and charge Newcastle for usage after the allocation and configuration were verified and the North Stand was determined to be the only option. SD observed that the Club had agreed with Newcastle to cover the Club’s trademark and iconography with generic drawings in order to prevent damage, and they requested that these designs be submitted.”

The club needed to comprehend the context in which the choice to mark BCB in black and white was made, he continued.

Additionally, Davison stated that the club had not wished to provide 6,000 tickets to Newcastle supporters, which ultimately resulted in the home crowd being moved for the game—an additional major source of unhappiness.

Louis-Dreyfus gave a message to supporters as he adjourned the meeting: “KLD emphasized his desire for the Club to continue learning and growing and conveyed his gratitude for the candid and insightful feedback fan representatives gathered from their members. It has been three years since his ownership group took over SAFC, and while he expressed gratitude and pride for all the effort done to begin rebuilding the Club, he also emphasized that more work needs to be done and that the process is not yet over. KLD came to the conclusion that although though this is a difficult time and he now has a greater understanding of the difficulties that fans have recently felt, he is more enthused about the future than ever and hopes to share many more happy times with the Club’s supporters.”