Soccer boss pays fans' £8,000 taxi bill

Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn stumped up £8,000 for a fleet of taxis to ferry stranded fans hundreds of miles back home after they were thrown off a plane for singing his name.

The much-loved football boss was incensed when easyJet threw off a number of fans, then cancelled the Bristol to Newcastle flight on Saturday night, causing Quinn to tell crew members: “These are my people, you cannot treat them like that.”

Jubilant fans sang ’Niall Quinn’s Disco Pants’ when he arrived at the airport departure gate following the team’s 1-0 win at Cardiff which briefly put the Black Cats second in the Championship.

The singing appeared to worry easyJet staff at the gate, one supporter said, and the captain was radioed to say there was a problem.

The plane was delayed after the police were called and a number of fans were ordered off for allegedly being drunk, before the no-frills operator cancelled the flight, which was carrying 123 passengers.

An easyJet spokeswoman said: “Due to disruptive behaviour onboard flight EZY 576 from Bristol to Newcastle on Saturday 31 March, police were called to the aircraft and a group of passengers were removed from the flight.

“easyJet has a zero-tolerance policy towards any unacceptable behaviour onboard or towards its staff and the flight was consequently cancelled.

“The airline offered those passengers not involved a free transfer onto the next available flight and hotel accommodation and would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to them.”

Quinn took charge when the flight was cancelled, ordered 18 cabs to take fans from Bristol up to the North East and paid for them on his credit card.

He stayed to the end to make sure everyone was safe before getting in the last taxi, arriving home on Sunday morning.

Quinn, a Republic of Ireland legend, said: “Saturday’s journey home from Cardiff was certainly one of our more eventful ones.

“A situation developed which led to the cancellation of a flight carrying a hundred or so loyal supporters.

“Myself and members of my staff were on this flight and we vehemently oppose the airline’s view that there was disruptive behaviour on-board.

“The mood was humorous and everyone was in good spirits after our fine victory.

“We also deny the airlines claim that overnight accommodation was offered and this was witnessed by several independent parties.

“Nonetheless we were faced with a situation where our fans were stranded and needed assistance.

“The Club was happy to provide transport back to the North East for the group, which included children, elderly and disabled fans as their safety and well-being was paramount.

“Thankfully everyone returned home safely and we’ll now draw a line under this and any fans who may still feel aggrieved with the situation – remember, the three points came home as well.”

Witness Steve Dean, secretary of the Jarrow branch of the SAFC Supporters’ Association, said: “Niall is one of the best people.

“We have been blessed with him as chairman.

“He made a speech when we came off the plane and you could have heard a pin drop, everybody was in awe of him.”

Mr Dean, 48, said Quinn had spoken up for fans when they were being ejected from the plane, before the flight was finally cancelled.

“He told the crew ’These are my people, you cannot treat them like that’,” Mr Dean said.

Quinn was already hugely popular with the fans after he gave the proceeds from his testimonial match to charity.

He became chairman of the club leading a consortium of Irish businessmen, and since fellow Irishman Roy Keane took over as manager, the club has risen through the league to the brink of promotion to the Premiership.