Cheeky fan riles Newcastle by dressing Alan Shearer statue in Sunderland shirt

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Sunderland fans wasted no time in winding up their Newcastle United counterparts before the Tyne-Wear derby in their FA Cup clash, by making a statue of Alan Shearer wear rival colours outside St James' Park.

The bitter North-East rivals will face each other on Saturday, in the third round of the FA Cup in the first Tyne-Wear derby since 2016.

Tensions are understandably high as fans gear up for the fixture, with police even threatening trouble-makers with banning orders ahead of the clash at the Stadium of Light.

However, a Sunderland supporter has now upped the ante ahead of the long-awaited fixture by making a mockery of Shearer's statue outside the Magpies' ground.

In a viral video posted on social media, the fan can be seen standing alongside the Newcastle legend's statue at night while dancing gleefully.

@joecant Shearer is a ... #fyp #sunderlandafc #sunderlandvsnewcastle #newcastleunited ♬ My Barn My Rules - MCR-T & horsegiirL

The Sunderland fan's cheeky antics come after the club suffered a humiliating ordeal in the lead up to the derby.

The Black Cats Bar, used by away fans at the Stadium of Light, was bizarrely decorated with Newcastle slogans and signage.

Photos: @Nusc2023

Images have gone viral on social media and Sunderland have decided to take the banners down and called the incident a "serious error in judgement".

Sunderland AFC acknowledges that a serious error in judgement was made in relation to Black Cats Bar earlier this afternoon.

We apologise to our fans for the understandable concern they have fairly voiced in response and this sentiment is shared by the Club’s Ownership Group and Board of Directors, who have requested an immediate review is undertaken to determine how this process unfolded.

A direct decision has also been taken by the Ownership Group and Board of Directors to return the space to its original state and we once again apologise to our supporters that this was not addressed sooner.

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