A man sporting a Manchester United jersey with an offensive message during the FA Cup final at the Wembley Stadium was arrested on Saturday (June 3). The football fan’s message on the back of the jersey appeared to be a reference to the Hillsborough disaster.
For the uninitiated, the Hillsborough disaster is one of the worst sporting disasters in the British history as well as football history. As many as 97 fans lost their lives while watching the FA Cup semifinal match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. The fans were crushed to death while watching the game from a standing-only area behind the goal.
Unsurprisingly, the photos of the jersey went viral on Twitter in no time as football fans from across the clubs slammed him for his act. The fans urged the official to take action and it did not take the the Metropolitan Police to do that. Soon after the photo went viral, the Metropolitan Police Events Twitter account retweeted a picture of the man wearing a Manchester United shirt that had the number 97 on the back and the words “Not Enough”.
“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,” the Met’s events Twitter account wrote.
This is not the first time that rivals fans have tried to take shots at Liverpool by bringing out the sensitive incident. Earlier this year in March when Liverpool were to host Manchester United at Anfield, managers Jurgen Klopp and Erik ten Hag joined forces to call on fans to stop “tragedy chanting”.
“It is unacceptable to use the loss of life — in relation to any tragedy — to score points, and it is time for it to stop. Those responsible tarnish not only the reputation of our clubs but also, importantly, the reputation of themselves, the fans, and our great cities,” ten Hag had said.
Talking about the FA Cup final, a brace from Ilkay Gundogan powered Manchester City to a 2-1 win over Manchester United. With the Premier League and FA Cup titles in the bag, Manchester City will be looking to complete a historic treble by winning the upcoming Champions League final against Inter Milan.