A Tottenham Hotspur supporter has been handed a three-year football banning order after he was found guilty of mocking the Hillsborough disaster during a match at Anfield. Kieron Darlow, 25, of Welwyn, Hertfordshire, admitted intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress at Sefton Magistrates Court.
The incident occurred on 30 April as Liverpool beat Tottenham 4-3. Prosecutors said Darlow laughed and made offensive gestures towards Liverpool fans. The court heard he was arrested after his actions were reported to police, who noted he 'seemed to be drunk'.
Andrew Page, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said Darlow had gestured to suggest that fans without tickets had pushed forward in the tragedy and were partly to blame for the crush that led to so many deaths. He 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.'
In addition to the ban, Darlow was sentenced to a 12-month community order and ordered to pay £200 compensation and a £114 victim support order. 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.'
The Hillsborough disaster, in which 97 Liverpool fans died as a result of a stadium crush in 1989, remains the UK's worst sporting disaster.
