Football supporter sorry for ‘upset and anger’ caused by Hillsborough post after West Bromwich Albion fan died

A football supporter who posted offensive social media messages referencing the Hillsborough disaster, in the wake of the death of West Bromwch Albion fan Mark Townsend during a match, has told a court he wanted to apologise for the “upset and anger” he has caused.

Richard Crisp posted the message on X, formerly Twitter, after the death of Mr Townsend at Hillsborough stadium, in Sheffield, on September 28.

Sheffield Wednesday fan Crisp, 55, appeared at the city’s magistrates’ court on Monday, where he was sentenced to a 12-month community order.

Magistrates heard that one of the posts said: “Another one to add to the Leppings Lane tally. What are we at now 98? When we get to 100 we’ll have a party. Up the Owls.”

This was a reference to the 97 people who died after the crush at the Leppings Lane end of the ground in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

Louise Brown, representing Crisp, read an apology from a letter her client sent to the court, which said: “I wish to apologise unreservedly to all the people I have affected and for the upset and anger I have caused.”

She said the letter acknowledged that what he had written on X was “derogatory, hurtful, distressing and disrespectful” to fans of both West Brom and Liverpool football clubs.

Mrs Brown described how Crisp was suffering from depression at the time of the posts and had been drinking, telling the court he was under a lot of stress.

The solicitor said he used alcohol as a coping mechanism.

She said that within 24 hours of his arrest he had lost the project manager job he had been doing for more than 20 years, was expelled from his golf club and given a lifetime ban by Sheffield Wednesday.

Mrs Brown also said her client and his family had been targeted with threats since the incident, leaving them “scared for their lives”, and she added: “It was quite clear someone was watching their house.”

Mark Hughes, prosecuting, told magistrates the police became involved after the manager of Hillsborough Golf Club, where Crisp was a member for 19 years, became concerned, especially after someone with a Liverpool accent had called threatening to “burn the clubhouse down”.

Mr Hughes told the court that the family of Mr Townsend has not made a complaint.

Crisp, of Lennox Road, Hillsborough, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, admitted a charge of sending communications of an indecent or offensive nature.

The defendant, who is married with two grown-up children, stood in the glass-fronted dock for the hearing wearing a black jumper and a black coat, as his family watched from the public gallery.

Crisp’s post caused outrage, especially among West Brom fans, many of whom had witnessed distressing scenes in the stands after Mr Townsend was taken ill during the Championship clash.

Chair of the bench Jayne Revill said this was “disaster-related abuse” which affected a “number of individuals”.

Ms Revill said the 12-month community order would include 25 rehabilitation activity days, and she ordered Crisp to pay £199 in costs and surcharges.

He is the third Sheffield Wednesday fan to be sentenced for communications-based offences in a little over a year.

Earlier this month, Brandon Pedryc was fined £300 and given a football banning order after he held up a message at the Steel City derby mocking the recent death of former Sheffield United player George Baldock.

In November 2023, Dale Houghton was given a suspended prison sentence after he mocked young Sunderland mascot Bradley Lowery, who died in 2017, on his phone during a match at Hillsborough Stadium.