Police confirm total number of arrests made during Sunderland vs Newcastle United derby

Northumbria Police has confirmed a total of nine people were arrested following incidents related to the Wear-Tyne derby across the North East.

The game between Sunderland AFC and Newcastle United on Saturday marked the first meeting between the two clubs since 2016 and the police force warned of taking "tough action" against anyone causing disorder.

A sold out Stadium of Light welcomed the two clubs to the FA Cup third round tie with plenty of fan zones also taking place across the North East.

A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “During the policing operation for Saturday’s Wear-Tyne Derby match, five men were arrested in the vicinity of the Stadium of Light, for offences including possession of a controlled drug, drunk and disorderly conduct, and indecent chanting.

“An additional four men were arrested as part of the wider policing operation across Sunderland, Newcastle and Gateshead city centres, for offences including common assault and drunk and disorderly conduct.

“The event passed largely without incident, with the overwhelming majority of both home and away fans behaving respectfully and appropriately."

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“We would like to thank everyone involved in what was an extremely successful operation, including both sets of fans, both clubs, partners across the region, officers which supported us from other forces, and, of course, our own officers, staff and volunteers.

“We will continue to review any further reports from the event to establish if further criminal offences have taken place, and take robust action where required.

“Anyone with further information, or who would like to make a report, is asked to get in touch via 101 or the ‘Report’ pages of our website, quoting log NP-20240106-0191.”