Spurs fan banned for three years for mocking Hillsborough tragedy

A Tottenham Hotspur supporter was banned from attending football games for three years on Tuesday after making gestures mocking the Hillsborough tragedy during a Premier League match in April.

Kieron Darlow, 25, made the gestures at the Liverpool v Tottenham game at Anfield on April 30, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said, where his actions were reported to the police and he was identified and arrested.

"Darlow admitted making a gesture towards the Liverpool fans and that this was a reference to the Hillsborough disaster," Associate Prosecutor for CPS Mersey Cheshire Andrew Page said.

"He admitted that this was to suggest that fans without tickets had pushed forward in the tragedy and had been partly to blame for the crush that led to so many deaths.

"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... This sort of behaviour is not only morally unacceptable, it is criminal."

Darlow was given an order at North Liverpool Community Justice Centre banning him from football matches and the vicinity of stadiums for three years.

"We hope this prosecution sends a message out to all football fans that their behaviour at football games is important and that, if it crosses into criminality, they will be met with the full force of the law," Page added.

The 1989 FA Cup semi-final was the scene of Britain's worst sporting disaster and resulted in 97 Liverpool fans losing their lives after a crush in an over-crowded and fenced-in enclosure.

Earlier in April Liverpool had called for an end to "vile chants" about Hillsborough after they were heard during a goalless Premier League draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.