Pardew keeps his cool amid ugly scenes

NIALL QUINN may be making moves to utilise the services of the former Foreign Secretary David Miliband at Sunderland, but it was Alan Pardew who was the true diplomat in the wake of ugly scenes at the end to this latest Tyne-Wear turf war.

Utter joy among the home supporters at Asamoah Gyan’s equaliser four minutes into stoppage time spilled over into something more sinister as prone goalkeeper Steve Harper was confronted and pushed over by a lone fan, before violence erupted on the final whistle, seats being used as missiles between opposing tribes in scenes that mirrored the culmination of the sides’ last meeting here three years ago.

The Football Association will await the report of referee Howard Webb, who stepped in to identify Harper’s assailant to stewards, before deciding what, if any, action to take. To his credit, Pardew refused to fan the flames in an act of diplomacy of which Labour MP Miliband, who is set to join the Sunderland board in a non-executive role, would have been proud.