I'm proud the Mackems have my severed head on a flag - Sam Fender teases Sunderland fans during St James Park shows

However, much like anything on either side of the Tyne-Wear divide, topics across the weekend inevitably moved into football.

Sam Fender has leaned further into the Newcastle United side of his identity in recent years thanks to collaborations with the football club to release limited edition football shirts as well as his work with the Wor Flag supporters group.

The relationship with the fan group continued over the weekend with black and white flags flying throughout St James Park and Fender’s team confirming they would replace any flags lost over the three days.

The final show of the three also saw Newcastle United defender and Northumberland local Dan Burn take to the stage with the Carabao Cup trophy.

Sunderland fans haven’t taken well to Fender’s increased visable alleigance to Newcastle United, which resulted in him calling out Mackems over the three days in the city centre.

One one night he said: “Sing so loud even the Mackems can hear us.”

At another point he referenced flags made by Black Cats fans showing a Sunderland striker claiming the head of the North Tyneside star.

“One of the proudest moments of my life is seeing we’ve p****** the Mackems off so much that they were going about Wembley with a flag with my severed head on it” he said on stage at St James Park in a clip which has now been spread across social media.

“I looked at it and I went, that’s f****** magic that man” he added.

The flag comes from a chant sung by Sunderland fans throughout the 2024-25 season and into their successful playoff campaign.

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Referring to the Spanish striker Eliza Mayenda, the chant goes “My name’s Eliza Mayenda, I hate Sam Fender, I play up front for Sunderland. When I walk down the street, all the people I meet say oi, big man, what’s your name” before being repeated.

The flags in question show Mayenda holding Fender’s head.

Sunderland’s last minute playoff final exploits mean the two clubs will face each other in the league for the first time since the 15/16 season.

The sides last met in the FA Cup third round in the 2023/24 season.

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