Sunderland update fans after 65 Tyne-Wear derby tickets cancelled | OneFootball

Sunderland have issued an update to fans after 65 tickets for the Tyne-Wear derby at Newcastle were cancelled and returned to sale.

The club said in a statement that an exceptional case of ticket misuse involved multiple unauthorised uses of supporter accounts without account holders’ knowledge, and the facilitation of tickets being used by others in breach of rules. It added this represented over half of certain group purchases, those involved had acknowledged the misuse, and action had been taken.

The update also noted that some supporters were affected through no fault of their own and outlined plans to work with the ticketing supporter subgroup to review and improve processes so away tickets are distributed fairly and only to genuine supporters.

The cancellations were initially attributed to a supporter breaching away ticket usage policies, which prompted concerns from fan groups and requests for clarification.

The Red and White Army publicised Tuesday’s update and raised earlier concerns about the cancellations, while also thanking Chief Business Officer David Bruce following Monday’s confirmation of his summer departure.

Non-executive director Tom Burwell has taken over as interim CEO, with a permanent appointment expected this summer.

Source: Sunderland Echo