During England's recent friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina, a Newcastle United fan came across a Sunderland flag at St. James' Park – the home stadium of Eddie Howe's side.
Did the supporter react in a calm and mature manner? Well, not exactly.
Newcastle fan spots a Sunderland flag at St. James' Park
Contents
Unsavoury behaviour with a Sunderland flag at St. James' Park
This Newcastle fan reaction to a Sunderland flag at St James Park last night…😂 pic.twitter.com/mgY352bbdA
— Football Away Days (@AwayDays_) June 4, 2024
Rivalry and tribalism are part of football, in fact, many would go as far as suggesting that they are core fundamentals of the sport, and without them, football loses something magical. It is hard to argue against that statement, after all, there is truly no better feeling than beating your fiercest rivals.
But, there are times in which love and passion for one club, combined with an immense hatred of their respective rivals, result in supporters doing something they perhaps regret. A good example of this came in a North London derby in 2023 when a Tottenham fan hopped the barriers and assaulted Arsenal shot-stopper Aaron Ramsdale.
This video, which depicts a Newcastle United supporter defacing a Sunderland flag at St. James' Park using a less-than-savoury part of his body, is of course far less serious than the incident highlighted above. But, it is again another reminder that when fans are blinded by love, or indeed by hatred, extreme behaviours often follow.
Newcastle United fan sparks debate online
The above footage of course made its way almost instantly to social media, on which a debate then ensued among supporters.
Whilst the vast majority condemned the fan's actions, with one supporter stating that “This individual isn’t a proper England fan as simple as that. If you can’t leave club football behind, don’t attend. Simple as that.”
But, it also resulted in many fans suggesting that Three Lions games should only ever be played at Wembley in order to prevent this sort of thing from happening.
One fan took to X, formerly Twitter, to say: “When it comes to England we are all one club. This behaviour is why all England games should be held at Wembley.”
Understandably, not everyone agreed with that notion, and the above video appears to have divided far more people than just Newcastle and Sunderland fans.