SUNDERLAND'S pre-season friendly at Harrogate Town tomorow afternoon will now take place behind closed doors.

Black Cats fans will no longer be able to attend the game, despite the away allocation being sold out earlier this week.

A Sunderland statement said: "Sunderland AFC is incredibly disappointed to inform supporters that Saturday’s pre-season friendly at Harrogate Town will now be played behind closed doors.

"At 5pm on Friday afternoon, HTFC informed SAFC that spectators would no longer be permitted to attend the fixture following recommendations from their local safety advisory group.

"SAFC understands that supporters will be extremely disappointed by this news and its last-minute nature, with many fans incurring considerable personal expense to put travel plans in place.

"We share this disappointment and will work closely with HTFC to ensure that all ticket holders receive a full refund as soon as possible.

"Following today’s update stating that supporters would no longer be permitted to attend the fixture, SAFC has taken the decision to stream the fixture on the SAFSee platform free of charge.

"Supporters who have already purchased a streaming pass will also receive a full refund."