Fans could face years-long bans for the offensive gestures
Football fans who mock tragedies including the Hillsborough and Munich air disasters could face years-long match bans under a new crackdown.
New Crown Prosecution Service guidelines reiterates offensive chanting or gestures about accidents or disasters involving players or fans can be treated as a public order offence. The guidance sets out how prosecutors can apply for Football Banning Orders, which stop fans attending matches and can restrict travel – for example to next year’s Euro 2024 in Germany.
It comes after a string of convictions, including of Manchester United fan James White, who was charged after he wore a football shirt at the FA Cup final between Manchester City and Manchester United which made an offensive reference to the Hillsborough disaster, reports MirrorOnline.Douglas Mackay, of the CPS, said “a small minority” damaged the reputation of the sport and it had a “devastating impact” on victims’ families.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham described tragedy-related abuse as “unacceptable”. He added: “This behaviour is highly offensive and can have a lasting effect on the families, friends and communities who have been impacted.” In June Zakir Hussain, 28, of Ilford, East London, was given a suspended sentence over a series of hateful tweets. They related to Hillsborough where 97 Liverpool fans died as a result of a stadium crush in 1989. That month Manchester United supporter James White, 33, of Stockton, Warks, received a four-year football ban for wearing a shirt to the FA Cup Final with an offensive reference to the disaster.
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