Sunderland issue stern statement following Hull City defeat

Sunderland have released a statement condemning an alleged racial incident involving one of their players following Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Hull City.

City ended the Black Cats’ unbeaten league record at the Stadium of Light with a deserved victory following an own goal by goalkeeper Anthony Patterson after just 18 minutes to boost their hopes of Championship survival with a fourth away win in the past five outings.

After the game, an alleged incident took place on social media with Sunderland star Romaine Mundle posting a message he received on his Instagram story, though it’s not been confirmed the club’s statement relates to that.

“Sunderland AFC has a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of discrimination,” the Wearside outfit said in a strongly-worded statement on Saturday evening.

“Following an alleged online incident earlier today, the club will continue to work with the authorities and the EFL to ensure the wellbeing of our players and staff,” the Wearsiders said.

“We will also continue to report all forms of online discrimination to META and urge them to do more to remove this unacceptable behaviour from their platforms.

“It has no place in our game or society, and we will support the strongest possible action against those responsible. We encourage anyone who hears or sees discriminatory abuse to report it by texting ‘SAFC’ and details of the incident to 60060.”

Patterson is facing growing criticism from Sunderland fans but the bigger picture remains a positive one. Regis Le Bris has the club in 4th place of the Championship table with 12 games left to play.

But there’s certainly cause for concern. Not just Patterson, but the likes of Jobe Bellingham was poor against Hull City, and Chris Rigg too, with definite signs of players tiring as the long-haul Championship seasons goes on.

And as ever, the Championship isn’t too far away from refereeing controversy.