Sunderland have identified a Birmingham City fan responsible for discharging a flare inside the Stadium of Light during Saturday's 2-1 win against the Blues. Pictures circulating on social media showed the blue flare was thrown down from upper section of the North Stand which houses away fans and had landed on the concourse, apparently next to a Sunderland fan in a wheelchair.
The club has this afternoon released a statement condemning the conduct of 'a small minority of away supporters' during the game, and said it had identified the person responsible from CCTV footage and had handed the evidence over to West Midlands Police. The statement read: "Sunderland AFC condemns the unacceptable conduct of a small minority of away supporters during Saturday's fixture at the Stadium of Light.
"A pyrotechnic device was discharged in the North Stand Upper after Birmingham City opened the scoring in the 29th minute and it was subsequently thrown into the North Stand Lower. The individual responsible for this abhorrent act has been identified by CCTV and all relevant information has now been handed over to West Midlands Police, with Club representatives continuing to directly support those impacted.
