In the third round of the FA Cup there will be a duel between AFC Sunderland and Newcastle United. The Tyne Wear derby is one of the hottest in European football. The bitter rivalry dates back to the 17th century.
How attempts at de-escalation can contribute to escalation can be clearly seen using the example of the football game between AFC Sunderland and Newcastle United.
The two clubs don’t like each other, to put it politely, and so the second division club from Sunderland came up with the idea of removing the red and white of their club colors from the business areas of the stadium, where fans of Newcastle United will see the game in the third round of the FA Cup. An even greater level of de-escalation was ignited, as the red and white was replaced by the black and white of the rival.
FA Cup, 3rd round arrow right
In the age of smartphones, things like this spread very quickly, and that’s why there was a shitstorm very quickly. A post from Joanne Yougson made the rounds. According to her profile on the “X” network, she has had a season ticket for Sunderland for more than 30 years. In view of the renovations at the “Stadium of Light”, Yougson complained that “Kyril” did not understand what the first Tyne Wear derby since 2016 between the “Black Cats” and “Magpies” or “Mackems” and “Geordies” meant Fans mean.
The rapid decline of the “Black Cats” documented in series
The explanations in order:
“Kyril”‘s last name is Louis-Dreyfus. He is the son of the late Robert Louis-Dreyfus, who was once head of the sporting goods manufacturer Adidas and extremely rich. Son Kyril, born in Switzerland but also with a French passport, has been the majority owner of AFC Sunderland since 2021, which has been English champion six times, most recently in 1936. He bought in when the club was doing very badly. Sunderland were relegated from the Premier League in 2017 as bottom of the table and from the Championship a year later as bottom of the table. Millions of people took part in this decline, as Netflix documented it (as well as the fans’ unconditional love for their club) with the series “Sunderland ‘Til I Die”.
Tyne flows through Newcastle, Wear flows through Sunderland
The “Tyne Wear Derby” is quickly explained because the River Tyne flows through Newcastle, which is why the city in the north-east of England is called Newcastle upon Tyne. About 20 kilometers south of Newcastle, the River Wear flows through Sunderland.
“The Black Cats” has only been the club’s common nickname in England since the beginning of the millennium. It became necessary because “The Rokermen” had previously moved from their old stadium “Roker Park” to the “Stadium of Light”. The origins of the term “Black Cats” go back much further, as this was the name given to a military unit that served at the mouth of the River Wear in the 18th century.
The “Magpies” are called Magpies because their black and white jerseys are reminiscent of magpies, the translation for Magpies.
“Dirty Scots”
A “Mackem” is a resident of Sunderland who also speaks the “Mackem” accent known as “Mackem”. Newcastle United fans usually call Sunderland fans “dirty mackems”, which can also be found in some translations as “dirty Scots”.
This also explains why AFC Sunderland against Newcastle United, who became English champions four times (the last time in 1927), is one of the hottest derbies in football. It is not just due to geographical proximity, but is deeply rooted in the history of the United Kingdom.
At the beginning of modern times, the Tyne and Wear region thrived on coal and trade. When King Charles I granted exclusive trading rights to Newcastle at the end of the 16th century, the people of Sunderland suffered extremely. In the English Civil War that broke out in 1642, the “Mackems” fought on the side of the Scottish rebels.
“Geordies” supported King George II.
This sealed the enmity towards the residents of Newcastle. However, their nickname “Geordies” only came into being in the 18th century and comes from the support of King George II, who was King of Great Britain and England from 1727 to 1760.
The accent spoken in Newcastle is also called “Geordie”. Because the word “Town” is pronounced “Toon”, Newcastle United fans also call themselves “The Toon”.
No matter whether “Magpie”, “Geordie” or “Toon” – Newcastle United fans are not allowed to take public transport to the derby in Sunderland on Saturday. The security authorities decided this for reasons of de-escalation.
