jakeykirkbride

When Sunderland travelled to Cardiff City in March 2007, Niall Quinn was chairman of a club that had been completely transformed under Roy Keane. They had started the season at the bottom of the Championship, but were now pushing for promotion, and hundreds of supporters had made the journey to Wales. Sunderland won 1-0, and around 100 fans headed to Bristol Airport afterwards for their flight back to Newcastle. Quinn was travelling on the same flight with some of his staff, while the players had already flown home. And when the supporters spotted their chairman at the airport, they started singing. “Niall Quinn’s disco pants are the best.” “They go up from his a**e to his chest.” “They’re better than Adam and the Ants.” “Niall Quinn’s disco pants.” It was a song that had followed Quinn around since his playing days, and the supporters were in a particularly good mood after the victory. But the airline staff were not quite so impressed. The singing continued as everyone boarded the easyJet plane, and concerns were raised about the passengers’ behaviour. The police were called. Officers boarded the aircraft and removed 12 supporters, including one man with learning difficulties and another who had been waving his artificial leg in celebration. Quinn was furious about the way they were being treated. He insisted the supporters were simply celebrating their team’s victory and had not been causing trouble. “The mood was humorous and everyone was in good spirits after our fine victory.” But the flight had already been delayed, and shortly before eleven o’clock the captain announced that it was being cancelled. The supporters were now stranded at Bristol Airport, more than 300 miles from home, with no flight available until the following day. Among them were children, elderly supporters and people with disabilities. Quinn initially tried to arrange coaches to get everyone back to the North East, but that proved impossible. So he decided to sort it out another way. He arranged a fleet of taxis. Around 14 ordinary taxis and four six-seater minibuses were organised to take the supporters all the way back to Wearside. And Quinn was covering the bill. In total, it came to approximately £8,000. One Sunderland supporter could hardly believe what their chairman had done. “It must have cost a fortune but it shows again that he’s the most decent bloke in football.” Another fan had been telling people earlier that evening that he loved Quinn so much he would give him a kidney. After discovering what the chairman had arranged, he changed his offer. “The bloke’s a legend.” “He can have both of my kidneys!” Quinn stayed at the airport making sure the supporters were being looked after and that everybody had a way home. Only once the others were sorted did he finally leave himself. The following day, he defended the Sunderland supporters and explained why he had stepped in. “The club was happy to provide transport back to the north-east for the group.” “Their safety and wellbeing was paramount.” And despite everything that had happened, Quinn still found a way to remind everyone why they had been celebrating in the first place. “To any fans who still feel aggrieved, remember the three points came home as well.” #football