EPL side Sunderland supporters who made the trip to St. Mary's to see their team "hammered 8-0 will be refunded the price of their match ticket," according to Tom Sheen of the London INDEPENDENT. Club captain John O'Shea said, "We win and lose as a team, players, staff and fans, however we wanted to acknowledge and thank the supporters who traveled such a long way to give us their backing and despite everything, stayed with us until the final whistle." Fans have until Nov. 5 "to claim a refund." They "can either return the match ticket to the stadium or post it." Fans "will not have the price of their travel refunded." Train fares, some of which cost £152.50 ($245) for a return ticket, "will not be paid." It "would be difficult for the club to work out how much to reimburse each fan because they would have travelled to the game by different means" (INDEPENDENT, 10/21). The BBC reported about £60,000 ($96,740) "will be offered to the 2,500 fans, with any unclaimed money donated to a children's hospice." Grace House, a Sunderland-based charity, "will benefit from refunds" not claimed by Nov. 5. Manager Gus Poyet said the Black Cats' heaviest Premier League loss was his "most embarrassing" moment in football (BBC, 10/21).
