Thank you for the kind words. As you say, the Hillsborough families have been exceptional in their dignity and patience. It's nice to see that there are opposition fans who know and accept the truth. I will leave it there because even thinking about what happened makes me really angry. Good luck with your football campaign this season.
A 57 year old West Brom fan died a the match at Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend. A 55 year old Project Manager employed by the Wates Group, very large construction company, took it upon himself to make a very nasty post on X about it and also included a reference to Hillsborough. He has been arrested by the Police and charged with making a malicious communication. Wates Group have sacked him and issued a public statement as below, please log in to view this image Hopefully he is now unemployable
This is his post “Another one to add to the Leppings Lane tally. What are we at now, 98? When we get to 100 we’ll have a party. Up the Owls.” He has also been given a lifetime ban from the ground by Sheffield Wednesday. I find it impossible to comprehend the mindset of such an individual, hopefully his family will have nothing to do with him.
I too struggle to understand people like this. What sort of warped mind not only thinks like this but then feels compelled to write it down. Football is tribal but some things ought to transcend rivalry like, I don't know, human decency, dignity, morality and respect.
Either blinded by a tribal culture that somehow transforms rivals into the enemy and dehumanises them, or a psychopath incapable of empathy. I'm not condoning it obviously, just trying to come to terms with why some people are this way. I'm not sure people like this can ever be eradicated from society, we just have to deal with them as best we can. Good on the company and the club for dealing with it correctly.
Bloke is the same age as me so he'll clearly remember Hillsborough and how badly fans were treated in the 1980s. Got to be a complete **** imho
Unfortunately, a lot of people made their minds up years ago and no amount of proof will ever change their minds. I live on an area that has a lot of Forest fans and I hear it far more than I should. I used to pull people up for it but don't bother nowadays; they're just looking for the agro and my mental health can do without the confrontation.
I love football banter... Today I was teaching yr 6 kids with a colleague who's an arsenal fan. Did a quiz with them ... drew a football pitch, marked down the size of the pitch and put an x on it. I explained that an arsenal player got sent off at this point and asked " if the Arsenal play was here and was sent off 3 minutes after the tackle....how long did i laugh for?" But to use the Hillsborough tragedy is just ****ing grim...true act of a soulless ****.
In a monumental victory today, News UK have admitted that The Sun, the flagship title for Rupert Murdoch’s UK media empire, has indeed engaged in illegal practices. This represents a vindication for the hundreds of other claimants who were strong-armed into settling, without being able to get to the truth of what was done to them. After endless resistance, denials and legal battles by News Group Newspapers, including spending more than a billion pounds in payouts and in legal costs (as well as paying-off those in the know) to prevent the full picture from coming out, News UK is finally held to account for its illegal actions and its blatant disregard for the law. It has also specifically admitted wrongdoing against Tom Watson, and admitted unlawful acts by The Sun, as well as by the News of the World, against Prince Harry. The truth that has now been exposed is that NGN unlawfully engaged more than 100 private investigators over at least 16 years on more than 35,000 occasions. This happened as much at The Sun as it did at the News of the World, with the knowledge of all the Editors and executives, going to the very top of the company. What’s even worse is that in the wake of the 2006 arrest of a Royal correspondent, there was an extensive conspiracy to cover up what really had been going on and who knew about it. Senior executives deliberately obstructed justice by deleting over 30 million emails, destroying back-up tapes, and making false denials – all in the face of an on-going police investigation. They then repeatedly lied under oath to cover their tracks – both in Court and at the Leveson Public Inquiry. At her trial, in 2014 Rebekah Brooks, said “when I was Editor of The Sun we ran a clean ship”. Now, 10 years later when she is CEO of the company, they now admit, when she was Editor of The Sun, they ran a criminal enterprise. Far from being relics of a distant past, many of those behind these unlawful practices remain firmly entrenched in senior positions today, both within News UK and other media outlets across the world, wielding editorial power and perpetuating the toxic culture in which they continue to thrive. It’s perhaps no surprise that all of their senior executives and editors refused to turn up to court to give evidence. The failure of each of these key individuals to come and answer questions under oath spoke volumes in itself, but their collective silence is deafening. Today’s result has been achieved only through the sheer resilience of Prince Harry and Lord Watson, whose willingness to take NGN to trial has led directly to this historic admission of unlawfulness at The Sun. It has only been by taking NGN - not just to the steps of court but inside the court room itself - that these Claimants have finally managed to extract this historic admission of guilt. As a direct result of him taking a stand, Prince Harry and his immediate family have also had to repeatedly withstand aggressive and vengeful coverage since starting his claim over five years ago. This has created serious concerns for the security of him and his family. The rule of law must now run its full course. Prince Harry & Tom Watson join others in calling for the police and Parliament to investigate not only the unlawful activity now finally admitted, but the perjury and cover ups along the way. Its clear now this has occurred throughout this process, including through sworn evidence in inquiries and court hearings, and in testimony to Parliament, until today’s final collapse of NGN’s defence. Today the lies are laid bare. Today, the cover-ups are exposed. And today proves that no one stands above the law. The time for accountability has arrived.
