Sunderland fans to fly banner mocking Newcastle

Daniel Storey

A message from Sunderland fans mocking Newcastle’s relegation is set to be flown over St James’ Park on Sunday.

The Black Cats secured their Premier League safety and condemned north-east rivals Newcastle to the drop with Wednesday’s 3-0 victory over Everton at the Stadium of Light.

On Saturday aerial advertising company Air Ads posted a message on Twitter which said: “Busy afternoon, putting together a banner for St James Park tomorrow afternoon!”

That was accompanied by a picture of a banner being prepared, with red letters across it spelling out ‘AUF WIEDERSEHEN PREM’.

It comes after a crowdfunding page was created on gofundme.com on Thursday by ‘SAFC AWAY DAYS’, with the stated aim of the project being to “organise a fly past banner over St James’ Park to allow us to say bye to our neighbours for a little while”.

Four donations have been made, with an anonymous one of just over £1,000 accounting for virtually the whole of the total amount raised. The page says £900 will be for the aircraft trailing the banner, with the rest going to charity.

The page features several negative comments about the project.

One reads: “Absolutely the wrong thing to do.

“As a Sunderland supporter you should have a bit of dignity and be grateful that it wasn’t us. It could so well have been but for a good run at the end.

“I want no part of this whatsoever. Shocking behaviour if you ask me.”

Another says: “This is just pathetic, we have relegated them isn’t that enough? What good will come from this?”

Last year, an Air Ads plane flew a banner displaying the message ‘5 IN A ROW 5UNDERLAND’ over St James’ Park during a match there – a reference to Newcastle’s run of derby defeats to the Wearsiders.