A soccer fan in the UK was arrested at the FA Cup Final at Webley Stadium for wearing an offensive shirt that had the number 97 with the words “not enough.”
The shirt was in reference to the 97 people who died during the Hillsborough Disaster.
The Hillsborough Disaster occurred in 1989 and was the result of people being crushed and suffocated to death due to overcrowding at the FA Cups semi-final game hosted at Hillsborough Stadium.
According to Manchester Evening News the man arrested was 33 year-old James White.
White was charged with “displaying threatening or abusive writing likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.”
Here’s the shirt:
#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
Per BBC:
A man has been arrested during the FA Cup final at Wembley after concerns about a football shirt slogan. A photo of the back of a man wearing the number 97 and the words “not enough” on a Manchester United top was widely shared on social media.
The FA said it “strongly condemned” the action, which it said referred to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster when 97 Liverpool fans died as a result of a stadium crush in 1989. The Metropolitan Police tweeted that a man had been arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and taken into custody.
The force confirmed to the BBC that the arrest was solely due to the shirt worn by the football fan but would not confirm that it was because of its alleged reference to Hillsborough.
White’s arrest has sparked new debates in the UK that it’s not “an offence to be offensive” and free speech.
WATCH:
"It is an offence to be offensive."
A Manchester United fan was arrested for wearing a t-shirt mocking the Hillsborough disaster at the FA Cup final on Saturday.
Social commentator James Melville joined Kev to discuss free speech.@TVKev | @JamesMelville | #TalkTV pic.twitter.com/vaJIjuQDEq
— TalkTV (@TalkTV) June 4, 2023
