Toon fan is fired for footie prank
SUNDERLAND RIVAL NOT AMUSED
A NEWCASTLE United fan was sacked for drawing “NUFC” and a smiley face on a machine used by a rival Sunderland-supporting workmate.
Philip Renwick, 55, scrawled the cheeky message on the handle of a generator at the factory where the pair worked as a joke.
But his colleague – a lifelong supporter of United’s bitter local rivals – was furious.
He complained to bosses at specialist water industry contractors Stonbury Ltd.
Dad-of-three Philip was fired and ordered off the premises.
He is now considering launching ® an unfair dismissal claim, adding: “I’ve been in construction for 35 years and I’ve never known anything like it.
“Most places that I have worked, there has been a Newcastle and Sunderland rivalry.
“It was just banter and I was having a laugh. I couldn’t believe it.”
Philip, who had only been with the company a month, drew the message for a joke knowing his co-worker at the firm’s site in Morpeth, Northumberland, would see it.
The two clubs will swap leagues next season after Sunderland’s relegation from the Premier League was confirmed last Saturday.
Newcastle had already clinched promotion from the Championship. Philip said: “After I did it, the bloke had a hissy fit and rang up his boss to complain.
“I got a call to go into the office and was told to leave with immediate effect.
“It was only marked with a pen and I easily rubbed it off. It was all part of the banter on site.
“It is the first time I have been fired in my life. When I told my friends they were flabbergasted.”
A company spokesman confirmed Philip’s contract had been terminated but refused to elaborate on the reasons behind his dismissal.
He said: “Philip Renwick was found to be unsuitable during his probation period, so he was asked to go.”