Nigel Farage recently said he has held conversations with a director of Sunderland A.F.C. (reportedly Juan Sartori) who has invited him to attend a home match. We, the undersigned Sunderland supporters, call on the club and its directors not to extend any invitation to Nigel Farage, or any other politician, whether at the Stadium of Light or elsewhere.

Firstly, we feel that Farage would only visit the club as a publicity stunt to secure votes from fans. He doesn’t care about the club, has never mentioned it before, and has no real connection with it. Having only visited Ipswich Town F.C. a few days ago, his cynical motivations are abundantly clear. There, he seized on the chance for a photo opportunity and to pander to their fans for votes, then left. Such behaviour is totally inappropriate for any politician, from any party. It’s also totally inappropriate for any football club to enable such actions.

Secondly, a visit by Farage would be hugely controversial and severely damage the club’s reputation. Public disapproval of Farage is well known and widespread. After Farage visited Ipswich, their fans said they were ashamed and embarrassed. The club itself is now engaged in crisis PR. Social media posts from several Sunderland fans commenting on a potential visit by Farage indicate many of us would feel the same way. Why would the club repeat the same mistake? Not realising this shows a staggering lack of judgment, care, or both.

Thirdly, the politics of Nigel Farage are diametrically opposed to the club’s values. Obviously, you don't need to conform to any particular politics to be a Sunderland fan. However, the working-class, socialist history of the fan base, who often worked as shipbuilders or miners, still resonates. There’s a reason why Durham Miners' Association banners are still paraded at the Stadium of Light. There’s a reason why the road next to the stadium is named after Keir Hardie. There’s a reason fans sing The Red Flag. Hosting Farage in particular is a slap in the face to the history of our club, what it stands for, and fans, past and present.

Fourthly, many people perceive Farage as being racist, and he has been accused of racist views and behaviour. Polling shows pluralities of the British public believe both Reform UK and Farage are racist. More than twenty former schoolmates of Farage have said he exhibited racist views and behaviour. Meanwhile, this club has collaborated with Show Racism the Red Card, of which Gary Bennett was an original member, for years. Multiple Sunderland players, including Romaine Mundle and Lutsharel Geertruida, received abhorrent racist abuse this season alone. With this in mind, hosting Farage is completely unthinkable.

Fifthly, a unilateral invitation from a single director ignores the views of supporters and could constitute a conflict of interest. Making such a decision without consulting the fan base, especially when many are likely to oppose it, is inappropriate, undemocratic, and disrespectful. Furthermore, such a situation could also create the appearance of a potential conflict of interest. For example, a football club’s director could potentially provide exposure for a politician in exchange for favourable treatment of their private business interests. Accordingly, we believe that any stakeholder or director who did extend an invitation to Farage should publicly apologise and explain their actions.

Therefore, we are calling on the club to:

1. Withdraw any existing invitations to Nigel Farage - or any other politician - to visit the club.
2. Affirm the club’s independence from party politics.
3. Affirm that the club will never allow itself to be exploited as a platform for shallow political stunts and promotion.
4. Explain to fans if an invitation was extended to Farage and, if so, when, by whom, and in what form and capacity.
5. Affirm that no one involved in running the club will unilaterally invite any politicians to the club or seek to use their position for personal gain.

If you agree, please sign and share this petition to stand up for our club and what it represents.