Nigel Farage claims Premier League side have invited him to attend game

Nigel Farage claims he has been invited to visit the home of Premier League side Sunderland.

The trip to the Stadium of Light was due to take place this week, days after a visit to Ipswich Town’s Portman Road was widely criticised by supporters’ groups.

The Reform UK leader said he has also been personally invited to attend a game by one of the club’s directors.

‘I’ve been talking to one of the directors, and they’d very much like to see me there for a home game,’ Farage told ITV News.

‘If I can make it, I will.’

ITV News also report the director in question is Juan Sartori, who owns a 34% stake in the Black Cats. While Farage had hoped to make the visit this week, it was never formally arranged.

Metro have contacted Sunderland for comment.

Farage was in Sunderland to officially launch Reform UK’s local election campaign after promising to ‘a breath of fresh air in English councils up and down the UK’.

On Monday, Farage paid a visit to Ipswich’s Portman Road before appearing at an event to help launch his party’s local elections campaign in Suffolk.

The Clacton MP took photos pitchside as well as in the club’s dressing room, sharing the photos on X on Tuesday morning, with the caption: ‘I’ve never been too bad on the right wing.’

A statement from the side sat third in the Championship said on Tuesday: ‘Ipswich Town Football Club has, over several years, hosted representatives from a range of political parties.

‘The club remains apolitical and does not support or endorse any individual or party.’

Since that statement was released, the series of events has been questioned in an article from The Athletic who report Farage was invited by an associate of club’s chief executive officer Mark Ashton.

Rainbow Tractors, an LGBTQ+ fan group said in a statement: ‘Rainbow Tractors is extremely disappointed in the club for allowing itself to be used in Reform’s Campaign trail.

‘The sightings of Reform being welcomed into the stadium sadden and anger us. Quite frankly, we feel let down by our club.

‘Reform UK is divisive, and do not accept the LGBTQ+ community.

‘How can the club say they welcome us as a community and support us when they are happy to be used to promote a party that would happily take away rights of our community and take away our spaces?

‘From Conor Chaplin becoming Rainbow Tractors ambassador, which was a huge moment, to a party who don’t like our existence being allowed to use the club as a promotional tool.

‘The club may have hosted other political parties in the past, but only Reform has actively used the club as part of its campaign. Disappointed and let down.’