A soccer fan was banned from attending matches for four years Monday for wearing a shirt to this month's FA Cup final that made an offensive reference to the Hillsborough Stadium disaster where 97 Liverpool fans died. (More Football News)
James White smiled and chuckled after receiving his punishment, which also included a fine of 1,000 pounds ($1,280).
White, 33, pleaded guilty at Willesden Magistrates' Court in London to displaying threatening or abusive writing likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
White wore a Manchester United jersey with the number 바카라97바카라 and the words 바카라Not Enough바카라 on the back to the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium on June 3. Manchester City won the match 2-1 against United, which is also a big rival of Liverpool.
The Football Association said that it spotted the offensive shirt on social media and security tracked down the man wearing it, leading to his arrest.
바카라It is hard to imagine a more ... offensive reference to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster,바카라 district judge Mark Jabbitt said.
The judge added that the shirt worn by White bore a 바카라hateful expression,? calling it an 바카라abhorrent message,? and that the impact of his actions are 바카라profound and distressing바카라.
According to testimony, White told police after he was arrested: 바카라You haven't even asked me what the T-shirt means. My grandad died aged 97 and didn't have enough kids.바카라
The prosecution said White had 바카라many바카라 previous convictions, dating most recently to 2021, but none were soccer-related.
The tragedy at Hillsborough in Sheffield, a city in northern England, occurred during an FA Cup semifinal match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest when thousands of Liverpool fans flooded a standing-room section behind a goal in the overcrowded arena. Victims were crushed against metal fences, trampled or suffocated in Britain's worst sports disaster.
Fans were blamed for years for the disaster, but after an initial inquest concluded that it was an accident, a subsequent inquiry in 2016 blamed failures on police, the ambulance service, and the Sheffield Wednesday team that plays at the stadium.
The Hillsborough tragedy and other disasters in the sport continue to echo in soccer stadiums for the wrong reasons in what the Premier League has condemned as 바카라tragedy chanting.바카라
Two months ago, Chelsea apologized for its fans who taunted Liverpool visitors in chants that referred to Hillsborough. A few days earlier, City had apologized to Liverpool for similar choruses of cheers. In March, Liverpool and United jointly appealed to fans to end hateful chants before their match in Liverpool.
Diane Lynn, vice chair of Hillsborough Survivor Supporters Alliance, said it was 바카라very personal바카라 for people who were at Hillsborough that day and that survivors suffered with 바카라guilt바카라.
바카라How dare he make us feel like this,바카라 she said of White.
