Newcastle United-bound player angers fans already with Sunderland social media gaffe
Newcastle United and Sunderland are set to renew their rivalry on the pitch this season after the Mackems’ promotion back to the Premier League.
Supporters of Newcastle and Sunderland are already counting down the days to the start of the new campaign, with the Tyne-Wear derby showdowns the first to be circles in the diaries.
Sunderland’s squad will likely look a lot different come the first of those games, with Habib Diarra set to be the latest new face to arrive at the Stadium of Light.
Newcastle are also at work strengthening their squad, but one expected arrival has seemingly already annoyed their fanbase.
James Trafford deletes social media post after Newcastle backlash
Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford is reportedly close to joining Newcastle, where he will provide competitive to Nick Pope.
However, Trafford had a bit of a howler with his social media activity this week.
Elliott Anderson was part of England’s successful Euro U21-trophy winning side and took to Instagram to post an image that was captioned: “European champions”.
Trafford was among those to reply to Anderson’s post, but he clearly needs to brush up on his Geordie dialect if he is to join Newcastle.
The goalkeeper posted “Haway”, as opposed to “Howay”, which is more associated with that side of the divide.
Anderson corrected Trafford’s spelling of the word, but not before many could pile on, forcing him to delete the message altogether.
Sunderland v Newcastle dates
Sunderland are set to host Newcastle on 13 December, before travelling to St James’ Park on 21 March.
| Fixture | Venue | Date |
| Sunderland v Newcastle | Stadium of Light | 13 December |
| Newcastle v Sunderland | St James’ Park | 21 March |
However, both of those dates – or certainly the kick-off times – are likely to shift between now and then.
Regis Le Bris’ men have plenty to focus on before the first of those high-profile clashes, but there is no doubt that those two derbies are more than just a game.
As this backlash to an innocent comment on social media shows, Sunderland and Newcastle fans are relentless when it comes to this rivarly.
Trafford has clearly found that out the hard way.
Sign up for the Mackem News WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking Sunderland AFC news sent straight to your phone. (edited)