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Three-year ban for fan who mocked Hillsborough disaster
A football fan has been banned from attending football matches for three years after being found guilty of mocking the Hillsborough disaster.
Prosecutors said Kieron Darlow, 25, of Welwyn, Hertfordshire, laughed as he made offensive gestures as Liverpool beat Tottenham at Anfield on 30 April.
Darlow admitted intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress as he appeared at Sefton Magistrates Court.
Ninety-seven Liverpool fans died as a result of a stadium crush in 1989.
The fans had been attending the club’s FA Cup semi-final at the Hillsborough stadium when the disaster unfolded.
It remains the UK’s worst sporting disaster and the aftermath saw their families lead a 30-year campaign to discover how and why they died.
‘No place in football’
Spurs supporter Darlow, of Node Way Gardens, was also sentenced to a 12-month community order and ordered to pay £200 compensation and a £114 victim support order.
The court heard he was arrested after his actions were reported to police, who said he “seemed to be drunk”.
Andrew Page, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said Darlow had gestured to Liverpool fans “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”.
Mr Page added: “He accepted at court that it was his intention that Liverpool fans should see this and that it would cause them harassment, alarm and distress.
“He admitted that his behaviour was unacceptable and regrets his actions.
“Darlow knew what he was doing and it was done knowing what an impact the Hillsborough disaster had on Liverpool fans and the city of Liverpool but he did it anyway.”
Merseyside Police’s assistant chief constable Paul White said: “This type of behaviour has no place in football.
“We will take action and identify those who commit hate crime in any form, and this includes unacceptable chanting which causes distress to others.”
Original article published 13.06.2023 on the BBC News website.
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