Leeds United's travelling support has been warned not to carry certain items when they visit the Stadium of Light on Friday night for the game against Sunderland.

Last season's visit led to Whites supporters expressing their anger at the extent of the searches by stewarding staff outside the ground as coins were among the items confiscated. The Supporters Advisory Board brought the issue to the attention of Leeds United and a sum of over £400 from the collected coins was duly donated to the Leeds United Foundation.

Though Sunderland announced in October 2022 - while Leeds were in the Premier League - that away supporters would be banned from bringing coins and vapes into the ground following incidents of disorder, the feeling at Elland Road last season was that a lack of communication led to frustration for Whites fans who were unaware of the ruling. This season Leeds say they have had much better dialogue with Sunderland and have been able to ensure fans know what they can and cannot bring to the ground.

A club statement said: "Leeds United have been provided with the following information by Sunderland AFC, ahead of the Sky Bet Championship clash on Friday night. The Whites head to the Stadium of Light for the 8pm kick-off and fans attending the game are asked to familiarise themselves with the key supporter information, below.

"The game has been declared as an ‘enhanced search’ fixture. That means a number of extra security checks will be in place, with the following items not allowed to enter the away section: coins, vapes and power banks. Sunderland AFC have confirmed that the items above are restricted to avoid anything being thrown into the home section below."

Leeds United have been given a full allocation of 2,092 tickets for the game which pits Daniel Farke's fifth-placed Whites against the league leaders. The Leeds United Supporters Trust say that Sunderland’s policy is a ‘strange practice’ but welcomed the prior warning this season.

“It’s a strange practice that we don’t see at other grounds we visit,” read a statement. “This caught out a lot of our fans out last season with poor or no communicaton before hand, meaning when fans arrived they were subjected to extensive searches and had to give up their cash, lighters and vapes at the turnstiles or were threatened with no entry. At least this year we have been given prior notification from both clubs.

“Not only is this an inconvenience but also adds to the hostility that’s often shown towards travelling supporters. We’re told the main reason for the searches is down to away supporters being situated on the upper tier, with home fans on the lower tier - there have been past issues with fans from other clubs throwing objects at fans below. Assuming that football fans are going to misbehave is one thing, but confiscating everyday items like cash and vapes is another. If there is a worry that housing away fans above home fans is going to cause issues, the sensible thing would be to reevaluate where away fans are located.”