FA 'strongly condemns' actions of man who wore shirt referencing Hillsborough
Catherine Wylie, PA
The English Football Association (FA) has condemned the actions of a fan at Wembley who wore a jersey referencing the Hillsborough disaster.
The Metropolitan Police Events Twitter account retweeted a picture on Saturday of a man wearing a Manchester United shirt that had the number 97 on the back and the words “Not Enough”.
Wembley was hosting the FA Cup final where Manchester City beat their rivals Manchester United.
— FA Spokesperson (@FAspokesperson) June 4, 2023
Police said a man was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and taken into custody. He has since been charged.
On Sunday, the FA said in a statement: “The FA strongly condemns the actions of the individual who wore a shirt referencing the Hillsborough disaster ahead of the Emirates FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.
“We saw a photograph of the offensive shirt on social media and immediately started working to identify the perpetrator.
“Our security team were able to quickly locate the individual based on the image, and we welcome the swift action which was then taken by the police.
“We will not tolerate abuse relating to Hillsborough or any football tragedy at Wembley Stadium and we will continue to work with the authorities to ensure strong action is taken against perpetrators.”
#ARREST | We are aware of this and have worked proactively with officials at @wembleystadium to identify the individual.
He has been arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and taken into custody. https://t.co/PNVzEhKzgZ— Metropolitan Police Events (@MetPoliceEvents) June 3, 2023
Sharing a tweet which featured a photo of the man wearing the jersey, the Met’s events Twitter account said on Saturday: “We are aware of this and have worked proactively with officials at @wembleystadium to identify the individual.
“He has been arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and taken into custody.”
Ninety-seven football fans died as a result of a crush at a match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield on April 15th, 1989.
They were unlawfully killed amid a number of police errors, an inquest jury ruled in 2016.
