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A man has been arrested after a video circulating online appeared to show a Newcastle United fan urinating on a statue of Sunderland legend Bob Stokoe.
The statue outside the Stadium of Light shows former Sunderland manager Stokoe celebrating his side's 1-0 win over Leeds United in the 1973 FA Cup final.
Ironically, Stokoe also won the FA Cup with Newcastle as a player in 1955.
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Northumbria Police have confirmed a 21-year-old man has now been arrested in connection with the video.
A Police spokesperson said: "We are aware of a video circulating on social media which appears to show a man urinating on a memorial outside the Stadium of Light in Sunderland.
"This type of behaviour is totally unacceptable and a full investigation has been launched into the incident.
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"A 21-year-old man has since been arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct and remains in police custody at this time.
"We recognise that incidents of this nature can cause anger and frustration within our communities.
"We would ask everyone to please respect the ongoing investigation and refrain from anything that could jeopardise these live enquiries.”
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A Sunderland spokesperson said on Monday: "This matter has been referred to the police and we will not be making any further comment at this moment in time."
Born in 1930, Stokoe joined Newcastle as an apprentice in 1947 and would make his first-team debut for the club in 1950.
He would go on to make 261 appearances for the Magpies, with the highlight of his playing career coming in the 3-1 win over Manchester City in the 1955 FA Cup final.
He later joined Bury and managed the Greater Manchester club before taking charge of Charlton Athletic, Rochdale, Carlisle United and Blackpool.
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Stokoe later joined Sunderland in 1972, helping the Division Two side win the FA Cup the following season before guiding them back to the top tier of English football in 1976.
He resigned from his role just months later after a poor start to their Division One campaign, later taking charge of the club on a caretaker basis in 1987 when they were relegated.
Stokoe died in 2004 at the age of 73 after suffering with pneumonia, with Sunderland later unveiling the statue of him outside the Stadium of Light in 2006.
Topics: Sunderland, Newcastle United, Football, Premier League, League One
Rory O'Callaghan