During the FA Cup final between Manchester United and Manchester City, photos of a man wearing a Manchester United shirt with the words “NOT ENOUGH 97” on the back went viral on social media. The man was later arrested by police for mocking the victims of the Hillsborough tragedy.
Some people take soccer way too seriously and some tease their rivals to the point of confrontation. Currently, it’s unclear exactly which incident took place here but the motive of the suspect doesn’t seem to be on the good side.
Why was he arrested? "Not Enough" '97' could literally mean anything, deluded liverpool fans overreacting!! pic.twitter.com/0CNVPOhHy7
— ⁸⁰ (@PalmerSZNN) June 4, 2023
What “NOT ENOUGH 97” refers to
The printing on the man’s shirt was a clear reference to the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.
The Hillsborough tragedy was a terrible event that took place on April 15, 1989, at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England, during an FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. 97 people were killed, and hundreds more were injured, as a direct result of the incident.
Many Liverpool fans were still pushing their way onto the crowded Leppings Lane terrace as the game kicked off. The head of security called for a large exit gate to be opened so that spectators could enter the stadium from outside, hoping that this would alleviate the situation.
A lack of oversight and direction, however, caused an influx of spectators to congregate in overcrowded areas of the stadium after this decision was made.
Why Police arrested the Manchester United fan during the final
The man sporting a Manchester United shirt with “NOT ENOUGH 97” written on the back was later identified and arrested on suspicion of a public order offense. Police even confirmed to the BBC that the arrest was made because of his provocative shirt.
#ARREST | We are aware of this and have worked proactively with officials at @wembleystadium to identify the individual.
He has been arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and taken into custody. https://t.co/PNVzEhKzgZ
— Metropolitan Police Events (@MetPoliceEvents) June 3, 2023
The Hillsborough Survivors Support Alliance (HSA) issued a statement on the incident, which stated:
“On Saturday 3rd June 2023, the first ever all Manchester cup final took place at Wembley between Manchester City and Manchester United.”
“It was the opportunity for Manchester as a city to show itself in its best light but unfortunately this was marred by a so-called Manchester United fan wearing an away shirt that mocked the deaths of the 97 unlawfully killed at Hillsborough, the families and the survivors of the tragedy that took place on April 15th 1989.”
Let this be a warning to anyone else thinking of doing anything similar. And that goes for using ANY tragedy pic.twitter.com/xwqAGgAAxe
— Hillsborough Survivors Support Alliance ( HSA ) (@HillsboroughSu1) June 3, 2023
“On the back of the shirt was the number 97 and above that, where players names are normally displayed, where the words Not Enough. Let’s hope the justice system can be as swift with the appropriate punishment for this act of hatred.”
We hope people act more responsively when they are out and about in public.
