Warwickshire man laughs in court as he receives 4-year stadium ban for wearing shirt which mocked Hillsborough disaster

A football fan from Warwickshire laughed in court as he received a four-year stadium ban for wearing a Manchester United shirt which mocked the Hillsborough disaster.

Ninety-seven Liverpool supporters died as a result of a crush at the FA Cup semi-final between the Reds and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield on April 15 1989 - the most fatalities in British sporting history. It led to a decades-long campaign for justice by families of the victims, who were initially blamed for the crush despite police safety failures.

James White, 33, admitted displaying threatening or abusive writing likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress at Willesden Magistrates’ Court in north-west London on Monday.

The court heard he wore a Manchester United shirt with the number 97 - the same number of Liverpool fans who died at Hillsborough - and the words “Not Enough” on the back to the FA Cup final on June 3. White was banned from all regulated football games in the UK for four years and was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay a surcharge of £400 and £85 in costs.

He smiled and chuckled after the order was made. District judge Mark Jabbitt said: “It is hard to imagine a more … offensive reference to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.” The judge added that the shirt White wore bore a “hateful expression” – calling it an “abhorrent message” – and that the impact of his actions are “profound and distressing”.

After White was arrested at Wembley Stadium, the court heard he was cautioned and told police: “You haven’t even asked me what the T-shirt means. My granddad died aged 97 and didn’t have enough kids.”

The prosecution said White had “many” previous convictions, dating most recently to 2021, but none were football-related. Police received a series of emails from people who saw an image of the shirt online.

The court heard how members of the public wrote that they were “absolutely devastated” and “disgusted” by it. Diane Lynn, vice chair of Hillsborough Survivor Supporters Alliance, said it was “very personal” for people who were at Hillsborough that day and that survivors suffered with “guilt”.

“How dare he make us feel like this,” she said. The defence told the court that White “deeply regrets” his actions and accepts he “hurt people very deeply”.

An inquest jury ruled in 2016 that the victims of Hillsborough were unlawfully killed amid a number of police errors.

Kevin Christie, from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) London North, said: “White was wearing an offensive shirt which mocked many people and communities that were affected by the Hillsborough tragedy. White showed no sympathy towards those people, nor did he care about the impact of his actions.

“The CPS will continue to work with the police in cases involving tragedy chanting, and people who behave in this way will be brought to justice and will be banned from matches.”

Douglas Mackay of the CPS added: “We are sending a clear message that we call on so-called fans to stop this vile behaviour of a minority which has a terrible impact on the bereaved and communities."

“If they do not then they face the risk of being excluded from the game they claim to love.”