News

Manchester City fan who mocked the Hillsborough tragedy receives fine and selective banning order

Disgusting.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 26th July 2023

A Manchester City fan who made repeated gestures mocking the victims of the Hillsborough Disaster during a game against Liverpool last year has been issued a selective three-year banning order along with a fine.

42-year-old David Murphy from The Willows in Frodsham, Cheshire, was attending Man City‘s round of 16 EFL Cup match against Liverpool at home on 22 December 2022 when his unacceptable conduct was caught on CCTV.

After the full-time whistle, Murphy was reported to have made a number of offensive gestures towards Liverpool fans in attendance, including ones which appeared to mock the Hillsborough tragedy of 1989.

Pictured in the surveillance footage from the Etihad Stadium, he can be seen imitating falling movements, shouting for help and seemingly referring to the infamous human crush which claimed the lives of 96 people.

CCTV footage of the Man City fan mocking Liverpool fans and the Hillsborough Disaster.

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Appearing at Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court this week, Murphy was handed a £265 fine and additional costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £106.

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Following his sentence, he was also given a football banning order which will see him prohibited from attending specified games in the UK and abroad for a period of three years.

GMP Superintendent, Gareth Parkin, said in a statement: “Mocking tragedies is utterly despicable and it is horrendous that some people think that it is an appropriate thing to do at a match. It isn’t casual banter; it is deeply offensive behaviour that opens up old wounds and ruins games of football… We have zero tolerance for it and it is something that we will always act on to stop and punish where we can.”

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Both top-flight Manchester teams and Liverpool themselves continue to stress that tragedy chanting and the mocking of club disasters like Hillsborough and the Munich Air Crash simply have no place in football and it goes without saying that urge anyone who sees this behaviour to report it immediately.

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Featured Image — Greater Manchester Police/Wikimedia Commons

News

Police appeal to find next of kin after man found outside Palace Theatre

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Police appeal to find next of kin after man found outside Palace Theatre

Police are trying to track down the family of a man who died after being found unresponsive outside the Palace Theatre in Manchester.

The man, who has now been named as Jonathan Bernard Carroll, was seen outside the city centre theatre at around 6.30am on Tuesday 12 November.

Emergency services rushed to the scene and Mr Carroll was taken to hospital.

Tragically, the 47-year-old passed away a short time later.

A large cordon was in place on Whitworth Street and Oxford Road while police and security attended the incident.

Greater Manchester Police are now appealing to find his next of kin.

It’s believed that he resided in the Salford area of Greater Manchester.

Anyone with any information should contact the Coroner’s Office on 0161 856 1376.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

News

Greater Manchester public urged to help get people ‘off the streets and on their feet’ before Christmas

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Locals are being urged to help get hundreds of people “off the streets and back on their feet” this festive season.

As the temperatures told colder by the day, and Christmas creeps closer and closer, Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity is bringing back ‘1000 Beds for Christmas’, and the massively-important initiative is aiming to provide 1,000 nights of accommodation to people at risk of homelessness before the big day arrives.

Forming part of the ongoing ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, this festive fundraising mission is designed to provide food, shelter, warmth, and dedicated vital wrap-around support for those who need it most.

The charity says it wants to build on the “incredible success of 2023”, which raised more than £55,000 and provided 1,800 nights of accommodation.

Stockport-based property finance specialists, Together – which has supported the campaign for the last two years – has, once again, generously pledged to match every public donation for the first £20,000 raised.  

Unfamiliar with the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme? Since 2017, when rough sleeping peaked, the initiative has helped ensure a significantly-higher rate of reduction in the numbers of people facing a night on streets in Greater Manchester than seen nationally.

The landmark scheme has given people the chance to rebuild their lives, while also giving them access to key services and opportunities that allows them to stay off the streets for good.

Despite the scheme’s recent success, organisations across Greater Manchester are under “a huge amount of pressure” to meet the demand for their services this winter, and given the current economic outlook, household budgets will continue to be squeezed – leaving people on the sharp end of inequality and poverty.

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“Help us be a lifeline to organisations on the frontline,” Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity urged in it’s public appeal for donations.

You can help make sure ‘A Bed Every Night’ is a reality for all by donating here.

Featured Image – EthelRedThePetrolHead (via Flickr)

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