Sunderland could face a formal complaint to the Independent Football Ombudsman after Stoke City supporters saw coins confiscated ahead of the Potters' 5-1 win at the Stadium of Light. The Black Cats made the decision to ban away supporters bringing coins, vapes or mobile phone power banks being brought into the ground earlier this year.
The decision was made after Burnley offered their 'sincere apologies' when a vape thrown from the away end struck a child, causing minor injuries. The club carried out an investigation to see whether away fans could be moved back to the South Stand, where they resided prior to 2012, and stepped up security measures in the short-term while also looking at alternative locations within the ground where away fans could be housed, but a decision has now been taken not to change the current configuration.
Part of those measures included Sunderland banning coins, vapes or mobile phone power banks being taken into the ground. Stoke City supporters were given a document headed ‘Enough is Enough’ when they arrived on supporters' buses last weekend in response to missiles being thrown from the away end in the upper tier of the North Stand – but away supporters have objected to ‘being treated like hooligans’.
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As per Stoke Live, Malcolm Clarke, the Stoke-supporting chairman of the Football Supporters Association, has written to Sunderland detailing his concerns with an intention of reporting the situation to the relevant authorities. The Football Ombudsman would then review the complaint and although recommendations are non-binding, clubs are expected to implement their findings.
Clarke said: “You can understand Sunderland’s concern about objects being thrown from the away end into home sections but the way they have gone about addressing this is very disappointing. The letter that was handed to Stoke fans on coaches was an appalling PR exercise.
"If they want to get supporters in a good mood that should have been written in an entirely different way. Instead of starting with ‘Enough is Enough’ and all that passive aggressive stuff it should have been asking for help.
“There was a very large police presence and large numbers of stewards and dogs behind the away end. I walked through the cordon without anyone asking to even look in my bag but one supporter told me that a steward put his hands inside his trouser pockets to check for coins, which is entirely inappropriate, while another had the cards taken out of his wallet.
“I said to a senior steward that it was the most unwelcoming experience that I’d had at a football club for some time and they looked surprised. Police had boarded a number of the Stoke coaches and gave severe warnings about not to take in coins.
"I don’t think that’s part of the police’s duty. It’s not a criminal offence to carry coins on your person. If Sunderland wanted to do that it should be stewards, it’s intimidating behaviour and the police should have better things to do.”
The Stadium of Light is cashless inside the ground, but a number of supporters have highlighted that cash was needed to buy match day programmes, while charity collections outside the ground asking for coins to be dropped in buckets.
Clarke said: “For the avoidance of any doubt, both the FSA and Stoke City Supporters Club deplore any behaviour such as items being thrown from the away end. Sunderland have CCTV in the ground. If this and stewards identify individuals doing this, we would support their prosecution which would be highly likely to lead to a football banning order, in addition to any action taken by Stoke City.
“I should add that Sunderland are unique in the Championship in housing all away fans in an upper tier immediately above home fans, and respectfully suggest that this problem could be eliminated by reconfiguring this arrangement."
Sunderland themselves have recognised that this is also an issue for the home support, after former Black Cats boss, Alex Neil was the target of coins being thrown at him.
He said: "It is what it is. I understand people's frustrations and I'm certainly not here to agitate anyone. I didn't try to agitate anyone on the day.
"But as Sunderland sampled when I was here, when I'm at a club I'm all in. I live and breathe the club and give everything I've got. That's probably where my disappointment comes from because when I was here, I gave every single thing I had to try to get success and I'll do the exact same thing at Stoke.
"I'm really passionate about my job, really passionate about the team. I'm sure supporters will understand that. Just imagine if the shoe was on the other foot today and what I would have got."
In minutes of meeting published by the Red and White Army, following a meeting with club representatives prior to the Stoke City clash, it was revealed that of six reports made to the FA, three of those reports were due missiles thrown on to the pitch by home supporters at the Stadium of Light.
The report reads: "The club has been placed on FA Report 6 times this season (SD). 3 of these reports have been for missiles thrown at the pitch at the Stadium of Light by home fans, two reports related to behaviour by SAFC fans away from home and one report related to missiles thrown by Burnley fans at the Stadium of Light.
"The total number of missiles thrown by home supporters on the above 3 reports is over 15. The most missiles thrown at any one match is nine, thrown at the Fulham FA Cup replay match. Objects include vapes, coins, plastic bottles, plastic cups, a toy rubber dog, and a bing."
It's worth noting that the number of missiles thrown and incidents it likely to be higher with the previous reports listed only accounting for when officials report the incidents. The club has warned supporters about their conduct and they're hoping to stamp down on any poor behaviour.
Sunderland have been contacted for comment relating to Stoke's complaints and whether home supporters could face the same stringent measures if there isn't a clamp down on missiles being thrown onto the pitch.
The club previously said in a statement: "The ongoing implementation of enhanced safety measures in the North Stand Upper, including an increased stewarding capacity complemented by enhanced training, an upgraded stadium CCTV network and enhanced lighting system, and the banning of items such as coins and vapes, was also considered.
"These measures have had an extremely positive impact on away supporter conduct and dramatically reduced the incident rate to ensure it is now in line with other areas of the stadium. The installation of a protective netting was also explored and several UK and overseas options were evaluated, but following the implementation of the measures above, it was determined that they would not further reduce the risk of missiles due to the items commonly used."
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