Manchester United fan James White gets 4-year football ban for wearing shirt 'mocking Hillsborough disaster'

A football fan laughed in court as he received a four-year stadium ban for wearing a Manchester United shirt which appeared to mock the Hillsborough disaster.

Ninety-seven Liverpool supporters died as a result of a crush at the FA Cup semi-final between the Reds and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield on 15 April 1989 - the most fatalities in British sporting history. It led to a decades-long campaign for justice by families of the victims, who were initially blamed for the crush despite police safety failures.

James White, 33, of Warwickshire, admitted displaying threatening or abusive writing likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress at Willesden Magistrates’ Court in north-west London on Monday.

The court heard he wore a Manchester United shirt with the number 97 - the same number of Liverpool fans who died at Hillsborough - and the words “Not Enough” on the back to the FA Cup final on June 3. Manchester City won the FA Cup at Wembley, beating local rivals United 2-1. White was banned from all regulated football games in the UK for four years and was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay a surcharge of £400 and £85 in costs.

He smiled and chuckled after the order was made. District judge Mark Jabbitt said: “It is hard to imagine a more … offensive reference to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.” The judge added that the shirt White wore bore a “hateful expression” – calling it an “abhorrent message” – and that the impact of his actions are “profound and distressing”.

After White was arrested at Wembley Stadium, the court heard he was cautioned and told police: “You haven’t even asked me what the T-shirt means. My granddad died aged 97 and didn’t have enough kids.”

The prosecution said White had “many” previous convictions, dating most recently to 2021, but none were football-related. Police received a series of emails from people who saw an image of the shirt online.

The court heard how members of the public wrote that they were “absolutely devastated” and “disgusted” by it. Diane Lynn, vice chair of Hillsborough Survivor Supporters Alliance, said it was “very personal” for people who were at Hillsborough that day and that survivors suffered with “guilt”.

“How dare he make us feel like this,” she said. The defence told the court that White “deeply regrets” his actions and accepts he “hurt people very deeply”. An inquest jury ruled in 2016 that the victims of Hillsborough were unlawfully killed amid a number of police errors.

Kevin Christie, from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) London North, said: “White was wearing an offensive shirt which mocked many people and communities that were affected by the Hillsborough tragedy. White showed no sympathy towards those people, nor did he care about the impact of his actions.

“The CPS will continue to work with the police in cases involving tragedy chanting, and people who behave in this way will be brought to justice and will be banned from matches.”

Douglas Mackay of the CPS added: “The CPS continues to work closely with the football authorities including the Premier League and the Football Association, police, clubs, and charities to look to stamp out all of the appalling and horrendous incidents of tragedy chanting and gesturing. We are sending a clear message that we call on so-called fans to stop this vile behaviour of a minority which has a terrible impact on the bereaved and communities.

“If they do not then they face the risk of being excluded from the game they claim to love.”

What happened in the Hillsborough disaster?

The Hillsborough Disaster occurred on April 15th 1989 during an FA Cup semi-final tie between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. The incident happened in the two standing-only central pens in the Leppings Lane stand, which were allocated to Liverpool supporters.

Once it became apparent that there were issues in the stands, the match was abandoned, with the fixture fulfilled at Old Trafford the following month.

Shortly before the game was due to kick off, in an attempt to alleviate overcrowding near turnstile entrances, police match commander David Duckenfield ordered a nearby exit gate to be opened.

This led to an influx of supporters entering the standing areas in which Liverpool fans were situated, which in turn caused a devastating crush. With 97 fatalities and 766 injuries, it remains the highest death toll in British sporting history.

Spurs fan banned for Hillsborough gesture

A Tottenham fan was banned from attending football matches for three years after being found guilty of mocking the Hillsborough disaster last Tuesday.

Kieron Darlow, 25, from Welwyn, made a gesture towards Liverpool fans at the Liverpool v Spurs Premier League game at Anfield on April 30. Darlow admitted that he made the gesture to suggest that fans without tickets had pushed forward in the tragedy and had been partly to blame for the crush that led to so many deaths, the CPS said.