🚩This Is Wearside 🏳️ · Nov 10, 2026 · 4:21 PM UTC

🚩This Is Wearside 🏳️

Matthew Powell retweeted

THIS IS WEARSIDE | OFFICIAL STATEMENT

This Is Wearside strongly condemns the decision to impose compulsory bubble travel restrictions on Sunderland supporters for the upcoming Tyne-Wear derby.

We are deeply disappointed, not only by the decision itself, but by the apparent reconsider it, despite the considerable efforts of both football clubs, supporter organisations and the Football Supporters’ Association to put forward sensible, proportionate alternatives.

Once again, football supporters are the victims of a narrow-minded, tunnel-vision approach to decision-making, where the operational preferences of those in authority appear to have taken precedence over the people most affected.

Supporters are expected to report to the Stadium of Light from 9am for a 2pm kick-off at a ground just 12 miles away. Some will be forced to travel miles in the wrong direction, only to be transported back towards where they started.

All for the privilege of supporting their football club.

How can anyone reasonably consider this proportionate?

We fully recognise the importance of public safety and the responsibilities placed upon Northumbria Police and the relevant authorities. Nobody is suggesting that those responsibilities should be compromised.

But public safety cannot become a blanket justification for imposing disproportionate restrictions, disregarding legitimate concerns or dismissing credible alternatives.

Public safety should protect supporters, not be used as an excuse to punish them.

The overwhelming majority of football supporters attend matches peacefully, something Northumbria Police itself acknowledges. Yet thousands of law-abiding supporters are being subjected to restrictions because of the actions of a minority.

It is collective punishment in all but name.

Perhaps equally concerning is the process through which this decision has been reached and subsequently defended.

Both clubs, RAWA, Newcastle United Supporters’ Trust and the Football Supporters’ Association have worked constructively to develop alternative arrangements. Detailed proposals have been presented, concerns raised and opportunities offered to find a more reasonable solution.

Yet the position remains unchanged.

Consultation should be an opportunity to influence decisions, not simply an exercise in explaining them after they have already been made.

This raises a fundamental question about accountability and whose interests are genuinely being considered.

Who does this decision actually benefit?

The authorities may find these arrangements operationally preferable, easier to coordinate or more convenient to manage. But they are not the ones being required to surrender their freedom of movement, rearrange their entire day or undertake completely unnecessary journeys.

Those making and defending the decision will not experience its consequences in the same way as those expected to comply with it.

The people most affected appear to have had the least influence.

When convenience takes priority over supporters, football has lost sight of who it exists for.

We should be moving towards more intelligent, collaborative and proportionate approaches to football policing. Approaches built upon evidence, meaningful engagement and mutual respect, rather than treating entire fanbases as problems to be controlled.

This is one of English football’s greatest rivalries. An occasion that should celebrate the passion, heritage and identity of two proud footballing communities.

Instead, we find ourselves discussing restrictions, unnecessary journeys and the breakdown of trust between supporters and those responsible for their safety.

That should concern everyone involved in the game.

This Is Wearside stands alongside RAWA, the FSA, both football clubs and the supporter organisations who have worked tirelessly to challenge these arrangements constructively.

Red & White Army
@RedAndWhite2017
5h
It would seem Northumbria Police will not reassess their decision to impose a full bubble trip for the Tyne–Wear derby and the reality of this decison kicks in. Sunderland supporters are now expected to report to the Stadium of Light at 9am for a 2pm kick‑off at a stadium just 12 miles away. Some fans will travel from north of Tyneside down to Sunderland only to be taken straight back up again on escorted coaches, before being forced to return to Sunderland after the match.

Over recent weeks, RAWA, Sunderland AFC, Newcastle United, NUST and the FSA have worked intensively behind the scenes to offer a safer, more proportionate alternative. We produced a detailed mitigation plan covering behaviour, travel, stadium operations and policing. We asked Northumbria Police to look again at their position. We highlighted the gaps in the SAG process. We pointed out the complete absence of supporter consultation in the seven months since the last derby. Despite all of this, Northumbria Police have refused to reconsider. We still have not seen a convincing explanation for why a bubble is needed. It leaves fans wondering if this is an exercise in cost cutting and convenience.

We at RAWA are gutted for the travelling Sunderland fans who will be impacted by this, and we have no doubt that these arrangements will be reciprocated for Newcastle fans for the return fixture. Where do we go from here?

@RokerReport @WiseMenSayPod @JamesCopley_ @ThisIsWearside @SunderlandAFC @nufctrust @NUFC @KiMcGuinness @ALS_Fanzine @WiseMenSayPod

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