So Sunderland say that Mike Ashley can only wear his Toon top if he goes in the away end.
After admitting he didn't mind if Ashley pulled on the black and white shirt Niall Quinn has now opted out of giving the idea the green light to wear it in the directors box - like he has been able to everywhere else in the Premier League.
So the big question is should Wor Mike wear his Toon top on the Wear?
Well let's be honest if he can survive Blu Bambu and the Quayside he can survive the travelling Toon Army.
And he will be more than welcome if he did by the Geordie public - after all he couldn't have done much more to get his feet under the table on Tyneside could he?
Sunderland say that wearing the top in the prawn sandwich area would be against club rules but would it be the same if it was any other club coming to the Stadium of Light?
We'll never know because no other owner has been so unique to wear his club's colours just like the fans do.
And it wasn't exactly a problem at the Boro was it?
Ashley may be a billionaire but so far we have discovered he likes a drink, loves his football and is clearly passionate about his team.
In fact he and Chris Mort have been a breath of fresh air to Newcastle United football club so far and long may it continue.
Both Mort and Ashley have went out and met the public and Mort has made sure he has met up with fanzine editors and supporters alike to see exactly what the crack is on the terraces.
Should Ashley decide to don his colours with Toon fans he will only go up in our estimation.
The man on the street has never appreciated the prawn sandwich brigade in football but Ashley could be the man to break this trend perhaps in the same way as Matthew Harding tried to at Chelsea before tragedy struck.
Of course we need to keep it real and top brass should be more concerned with sorting out the club's finances, new players, players going out, his manager and of course supporter relations.
But that is exactly what Mort has done so far and he has to be widely applauded.
And now the subject of the Tyne-Wear derby.
Can we win it? I think we can.
Ashley's presence on the terraces would certainly lift the Toon fans after the mauling by Pompey but many of us now realise this is a game we can win.
With derby specialist Michael Owen in the frame for the clash - a man who used to score for fun against Everton in his Liverpool days and grabbed one for Real Madrid against Barcelona in Spain's big clash - United have the man who can unlock the Sunderland defence.
So the countdown continues before the showdown on the Wear.
Tyneside will come to a standstill and we're all up for it.
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