A plane carrying David Moyes and his Sunderland squad to Geneva had to make an emergency landing in Manchester on Sunday.
The Eastern Airways Flight was scheduled to fly from Newcastle to the Swiss city, but a fault with one of the engines caused a diversion to Manchester Airport.
A statement from a Sunderland spokeswoman in the Sunderland Echo read: "There was a technical fault with the plane and we were diverted to Manchester.
"We have to wait for a new aircraft, but it's just a minor delay and hopefully we'll be in France soon."
A Manchester Airport statement added: "It was a flight carrying the Sunderland football team.
"They had set off from Newcastle earlier and the aircraft was showing a technical failure, so it was diverted to Manchester as a precaution.
"It landed safely and all passengers disembarked while safety checks were made."
