SUNDERLAND AND NEWCASTLE are currently doing battle in the Tyne-Wear derby but Magpies boss Alan Pardew claims he is not unduly concerned about the Black Cats’ newest fan.
Pope Francis was pictured holding the Sunderland jersey aloft in Rome this week. The jersey was presented to the Argentinean by the club’s chaplain, Fr Marc Lyden-Smith. The name at the back of the jersey read ‘Papa Francesco’.
Pardew joked that his trump card may be Newcastle’s Fabricio Coloccini, who is a compatriot of the football-mad pontiff.
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