My mates were invited over to Wearside on Saturday to visit the Stadium of Litter… | OneFootball

Now I’m not trying to be the new Greta Thunberg here but….

Something I care passionately about, has once again been brought to my attention.

My mate Michael and his girlfriend Ava are keen football supporters.

There is even local rivalry in their household, as Michael is a Heaton Stannington fan, whilst Ava follows Newcastle Benfield FC.

In fact, these two go to as many local games as they can get to, regularly watching Newcastle United and also our ladies team, whenever they get the chance.

This weekend, they were invited by a Norwich City supporting friend to attend the Stadium of Light in the away end.

They went the full hog and even asked their mate to supply Canaries scarves for the day, which they duly paid for.

Mick and Ava had never been to Sunderland for a match and enjoyed the game, despite the mackems coming back from a goal down to steal the spoils.

Mick is a very socially aware sort of bloke and in particular, a staunch environmentalist.

What he said he witnessed at the Stadium of Light, was the worst litter problem he had ever seen at any ground.

Apparently there were bin liners, discarded food containers, carrier bags and other litter of every description all around the pitch, which become a distraction to both sets of players.

The fact that this debris was swirling around in a high wind only made things even more intolerable, Mick said that he seriously thought the referee might have had to halt the game in the second half, as it was that bad.

The travelling Norwich fans were flabbergasted and disgusted, plus I noticed that there was a thread about the massive litter problem on a popular Sunderland forum after the game.

Even though the problem had ‘improved’ to an extent by the end of the match, when the Norwich boss was interviewed after the final whistle, you can get an idea of just how bad it was during the actual game.

I know that St James’ Park is further inland than Sunderland’s ground, which is near the coast (hence it probably gets windier there), but I would be appalled if this happened at Gallowgate.

Howay you red and white lads and lasses, get a grip of the situation.

Pick it up, or place it in the bin in the first place, because the rubbish flying about the Stadium of Light is now being looked upon as a total embarrassment.