Two visiting teams to have ticket allocations cut

It's been revealed that two teams who will visit the Stadium of Light this season will have their ticket allocations cut because of their past records for fans who persist in standing.

When Sheffield Wednesday visit at the end of September, their fans will only have 2,700 tickets, and Cardiff City will only be allowed to bring 1,500 fans to their game on 31 October.

Cardiff also saw their allocation cut when they visited the SoL early in 2005 and the Sunderland Echo comments tonight that visiting Leeds supporters can also expect a relatively small allocation for their visit on Boxing Day - both Leeds and West Ham were each given a reduced 1,500 ticket allocation for their visits in Sunderland's last Championship season.

A spokesman for Sunderland City Council said, "The action of fans standing in seated areas is recognised as a major safety concern as it introduces the risk of injury to spectators and others from falls, surging and crushing.

"The action also impacts upon customer care issues as spectators behind standing fans have no alternative but to do likewise. "