A sports club was forced to apologize to its fans and the public after a group of their fans hired a private plane to carry a ‘White Lives Matter’ banner across the sky during their match.
The incident occurred in Manchester, England, where Manchester City Football Club clashed with Burnley Football Club in a Premier League match.
While players of both clubs took the knee to show support for the ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests around the world, a private plane was moments later seen flying over the stadium carrying a banner that read ‘White Lives Matter Burnley.’
Following the backlash, the football club in question was forced to apologize despite having nothing to do with the banner except for their name being mentioned on it.
After the incident went viral, it was found that a group of hooligan fans known as Suicide Squad were behind the stunt, whereas Burnley local Jake Hepple, a member of the group, refused to apologize.
“I’d like to take this time to apologize .. TO ABSOLUTELY F****** NOBODY!” Hepple wrote in his Facebook post.
“It’s now apparently racist to say white lives matter (the day after three white people got murdered in a park in Reading, but all we’ve seen on the TV is black lives matter after George Floyd got murdered) what a mad world we live in.”
According to the reports, it is believed that the Suicide Squad had resorted to crowdfunding to raise the money to fly the banner over the stadium before the match started.
After the stunt has been widely slammed by the public, Burnley FC captain, Ben Mee, spoke out and said he feels “embarrassed” while condemning the actions of the hooligans.
“I am ashamed and embarrassed that a small number of our fans have decided to fly that around the stadium. It is not what we are about. They have missed what we are trying to achieve,” Mr. Mee said.
The footballer added:
“I’ve heard it is a small number that have arranged this and I hope it doesn’t happen again. I don’t want to associate it with my club. I don’t want to see this in the game.
“It is not right. We totally condemn it. These people can learn and be taught what Black Lives Matter is trying to achieve.”
What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to SHARE this post with your family and friends and follow us on Facebook for more news and stories!
Replaced!