POLICE today announced they would investigate after a “White Lives Matter” banner was flown over their clash against Manchester City – as a thug claiming to be behind the stunt was today unmasked.
Burnley FC said they were “ashamed and embarrassed” after the distasteful banner appeared over the Etihad Stadium last night just moments after the players took a knee in solidarity for the global Black Lives Matter movement.
A ‘white lives matter banner’ flew over the Etihad during the clash between Burnley and Manchester CityCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Lancashire Police Chief Supt Russ Procter confirmed they were investigating if a criminal offence had taken place.
He said: “We recognise that this banner will have caused offence to many people in Lancashire and beyond and we continue to liaise closely with our partners at both the club and in the local authority.”
And Jake Hepple, who has previously been pictured with English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson, claimed he was involved in the stunt shortly after the 8pm kick-off.
Writing on Facebook, the Lancashire local said: “I’d like to take this time to apologise .. to absolutely f***ing nobody!”
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He could face a racially-aggravated public order offence related to the message. Such offence carries a maximum of two years in prison.
Burnley were quick to slam the idiotic stunt last night.
And immediately after the game Burnley Captain Ben Mee said he had been left “ashamed” – adding “people need to come into the 21st century”.
The defender blasted: “We as a group of players condemn it, we’re ashamed, we’re embarrassed.
“It completely misses the point of what we’re trying to achieve as a football community.
Hepple, from Lancashire, has previously been pictured with EDL founder Tommy RobinsonCredit: Facebook
Hepple posted the status shortly after kick-offCredit: Facebook
“It’s a minority of our supporters, I know I speak for a massive part of our support who distance ourselves from anything like that.”
An emotional Mee told Sky News: “It definitely had a had massive impact on us to see that in the sky.
“We were embarrassed, disappointed, upset. We are embarrassed that our name was in it.
“That they tried to attach it to our club. It doesn’t belong anywhere near our club.
“Fans like that don’t deserve to be around football.”
Blackpool Airport today suspended all banner towing operations after the incident, management left “outraged”.
And Blackpool Council said “further action” against the company that orchestrated the stunt would be taken tomorrow.
The incident was also referred to the Civil Aviation Authority.
Mr Hepple’s employer, Paradigm Precision in Burnley, said today: “We are aware of the incident that took place and are currently investigating the conduct of our employee.
“Once we have completed our enquiries, we will release a full statement.”
Burnley FC themselves said they are now investigating the incident as they apologised “unreservedly”.
‘WE APOLOGISE’
A statement read: “Burnley Football Club strongly condemns the actions of those responsible for the aircraft and offensive banner that flew over The Etihad Stadium on Monday evening.
“We wish to make it clear that those responsible are not welcome at Turf Moor.
“This, in no way, represents what Burnley Football Club stands for and we will work fully with the authorities to identify those responsible and issue lifetime bans.
“The club has a proud record of working with all genders, religions and faiths through its award-winning Community scheme, and stands against racism of any kind.
“We are fully behind the Premier League’s Black Lives Matter initiative and, in line with all other Premier League games undertaken since Project Restart, our players and football staff willingly took the knee at kick-off at Manchester City.
“We apologise unreservedly to the Premier League, to Manchester City and to all those helping to promote Black Lives Matter.”
Burnley FC Police last night said they were “aware who was involved”, saying: “This will be dealt with ASAP”.
The incident happened moments after the players took a kneeCredit: EPA
Burnley manager Sean Dyche and his staff take a knee before the Premier League matchCredit: PA:Press Association
Ben Mee slammed the message flown over the stadium last night
A man at the hanger, an ex-pilot who did not want to be named and claimed to know the Air Ads pilot, said the firm had been run by Alan Elliott, who died a few weeks ago.
He claimed Mr Elliott’s family had taken a back seat and a pilot was hired when they had orders to fly banners.
He said banners are made to order, with flight costs of around £700, and the pilot would be paid around £100 per flight.
This year, Prem stars have been wearing Black Lives Matters messages on the back of their shirts since the league’s restart from coronavirus.
The Black Lives Matter movement has seen a huge wave of support since the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin.
It sparked huge protests across America that have spread across the world – including demonstrations held in the UK.
Protesters have also targeted statues of historical figures including Winston Churchill as they demand Britain examine its controversial history.
But the All Lives Matter slogan has distorted the BLM message, redirecting attention from Black lives that need attention.
Burnley supporters have previously been accused of racially abusing Brighton player Gaetan Bong and Spurs striker Son Heung-min in recent years
Last year, Tottenham ejected a 13-year-old Burnley fan from the stadium for allegedly racially abusing Son Heung-min.
And a father and son were accused of hurling racist abuse at Brighton defender Gaetan Bong last year.
Meanwhile, Burnley’s own striker Andre Gray accused his own fans of racism in 2016 – accusing them of living “in the stone age”.
And Kick It Out, English football’s anti-racism charity, today slammed the sentiments of the banner – saying that it represented a grave misunderstanding of the BLM initiative.
The organisation’s chair Sanjay Bhandari said: “The point of Black Lives Matter is not to diminish the importance of other people’s lives.
‘A DISGRACE’
“It is to highlight that black people are being denied certain human rights simply by virtue of the colour of their skin. It is about equality.
“We shall continue to support the Black Lives Matter movement and the fight for greater equality for all in football.”
Athletes across many sports have taken a knee before their games in recent weeks – with the move an iconic symbol.
The show of support for the BLM movement started during the American football pre-season in 2016 when the San Francisco 49ers’ black quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat instead of standing during the national anthem.
‘IT’S DISHEARTENING’
Ex-Man City star Micah Richards said he had been left “disheartened” by the sick racist stunt last night.
The former defender, who is now a pundit for Sky Sports, said: “It was very disheartening to see but I don’t want to make a big thing about it when we’ve got something so positive going on.
“I’d like to think it was a small percentage but it was disheartening to see.”
And he praised Ben Mee for speaking out, saying he had played with him previously.
Richards said: “He spoke from the heart and that’s all you can ask him to do.
“It shows you though, I speak to a lot of people who say ‘that’s happening in America, not in England.’
“It’s proved today that people do feel like that. I don’t want to fight fire with fire, I want to educate people.”I would like to see them and ask them ‘why do you feel this way?’
“Until we understand why people feel this way, nothing’s going to change.
“We can wear T-shirts, we can do Black Lives Matter protests and slowly we’re getting better but it’s just showed you today that although it’s a small minority, it’s still happening.”
The banner was greeted with fury after the image was shared across social media.
Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan was one of the first to slam the banner, saying: “So depressing”.
One simply commented: “Idiots.”
Another added: “What an absolute disgrace.”
Former Premier League striker Darren Bent added: “Strange considering Burnley have NO black players in there squad at all.”
And Frank Sinclair added: “As an ex Burnley captain, I feel I need to show my disappointment when I saw that sign above the stadium at a club many black players have represented, please understand the message #BlackLivesMatters is for the good of humanity not just Black lives.”
Last week Man City boss Pep Guardiola revealed his anger at how black people had been treated for centuries after his side beat Arsenal.
Calling for more to be done in the fight for equality he said: “How people can think they are different? All the gestures are good and positive. Everything we can do to make it conscious, it is not acceptable.
“We have to do a lot of things for the black people which we have not done so far.”
Piers Morgan slammed the sick stuntCredit: Twitter
Darren Bent tweeted about the incident last night
Frank Sinclair said he was disappointed by the banner
Burnley FC Police said they were aware who was involved
Ben Mee is seen playing last night – later condemning the message flown over the Etihad stadiumCredit: EPA
Protests have been held across London to support the BLM movementCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The BLM movement has seen a swell of support in recent weeksCredit: Reuters
Burnley’s Ben Mee responds to an offensive banner flown over the Etihad Stadium
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
