Manchester United fan arrested for vile shirt mocking Hillsborough tragedy victims

A football fan was arrested at Saturday's FA Cup final for wearing a vile shirt that mocked the victims of the Hillsborough tragedy.

Pictures circulated across social media after the man was spotted by fans at the final between Manchester United and Manchester City. He was seen wearing a customised United shirt with an offensive reference to the disaster and the number of fans that lost their lives printed on the back.

The shirt was a clear reference to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, where 97 Liverpool fans were killed in a crush during the FA Cup semi final against Nottingham Forest.

Twitter user @TheKopWatch shared a photo of the man's shirt with the caption: "A Man Utd fan at Wembley today. get this man's face spread across social media ASAP, he needs to face repercussions."

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Less than two hours later, the Met Police quote retweeted the image saying they had arrested the individual "on suspicion of a public order offence and taken into custody".

On Sunday, the FA also said in a statement: "The FA strongly condemns the actions of the individual who wore a shirt referencing the Hillsborough disaster ahead of the Emirates FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium.

“We saw a photograph of the offensive shirt on social media and immediately started working to identify the perpetrator.

“Our security team were able to quickly locate the individual based on the image, and we welcome the swift action which was then taken by the police.

“We will not tolerate abuse relating to Hillsborough or any football tragedy at Wembley Stadium and we will continue to work with the authorities to ensure strong action is taken against perpetrators.”

Many took to social media to condemn the man. One wrote: “On behalf of United fans, sorry. All football clubs have their horrible fans, but what goes though these peoples minds?

“Imagine waking up, going to an FA Cup final between two Manchester teams and thinking it would be funny to wear that?"

The Hillsborough Survivors Support Alliance (HSA) shared a picture of the man being arrested, writing: "Let this be a warning to anyone thinking of doing anything similar."

In a longer statement, the HSA called the man's actions "despicable" as well as calling his decision to wear the t-shirt an "act of hatred."

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