Sunderland and Newcastle United fans must confront racism together, not descend into tribal point-scoring
Sunday should have been about Sunderland. About a comeback at St James’s Park. About Brian Brobbey’s winner. About Régis Le Bris outmanoeuvring Eddie Howe. About a team, stretched by injuries, showing composure and control in the second half of a derby.
Instead, once again, we are talking about racism. Lutsharel Geertruida reported the alleged abuse. The game stopped. The narrative shifted. Club statements flowed. And a fixture that should have been defined by football was pulled in a different direction. That is the issue. Not that it happened in isolation - but that it keeps happening, and keeps intruding.
This is not what the North East derby is about. It is not what Sunderland vs Newcastle should represent. These games are supposed to be about edge, about identity, about moments that live for years. Sunday had all of that. But racism keeps forcing its way into the conversation. Sunderland winger Romaine Mundle was also racially abused online twice in 12 months after games against Hull City and Fulham.
There is a temptation to view it through the prism of rivalry. To turn it into a Sunderland problem or a Newcastle United problem, depending on where it lands. That is convenient, but it is also wrong. This is not about club allegiances. Racism is a societal issue, and football, as it so often does, reflects it. And it is not confined to one stadium, nor is it unique to just one club. It is not isolated to matchdays. It is carried, repeated, normalised in wider society. Which is why reducing it to tribal football arguments misses the point entirely.
There is also a broader context that cannot be ignored. The tone of public discourse has shifted. Lines have blurred. Things that should be clearly unacceptable are, at times, brushed aside or excused by the highest-profile politicians in the land. That shift feeds into football. It always has. The North East is not immune to that. Sunderland and Newcastle alike have been touched by incidents like this, and that should be a source of reflection, not deflection.
The reality is that clubs like Sunderland are built on the opposite idea. Founded by a Scot. Sustained at critical moments by figures from Ireland and beyond. Managed, played for and owned by individuals from across Europe, South America and Africa. The club’s identity is not narrow. It never has been. That is true across football.
Which is why reported behaviour like this is not just offensive, but hollow. It ignores the very foundations of the clubs it claims to represent. And it diminishes the occasion. Sunderland were the better team in the second half. They controlled the game, they found solutions, and they deserved to win. That should have been the focus. That should have been the story.
Instead, it shares space with something that drags attention away from the pitch. There is a line in football. Rivalry sits on one side of it - loud, partisan, sometimes hostile, but rooted in the game. Racism sits well beyond it. It does not belong. And until that is properly understood - not just acknowledged, but acted upon - it will keep surfacing, on days when it has no place at all.
It was, at least, encouraging to see a more unified response in the immediate aftermath. Supporters and officials from both Sunderland and Newcastle were quick to condemn what had happened, cutting through the usual tribal noise that so often follows incidents like this. There were even reports of Newcastle players stepping in to help clarify the situation to the refereeing team during the stoppage - a small but important act. Because ultimately, that is how this issue has to be addressed. Not through blame, not through deflection, but collectively. Together, across clubs, across dressing rooms, across fanbases. Mackems and Geordies must unite.
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