Burnley vow to ban those responsible for ‘White Lives Matter’ banner for life

The banner was flown above the Etihad Stadium prior to the Premier League game with Manchester City

Burnley have vowed to ban those responsible for the ‘White Lives Matter’ plane banner for life.

A plane towing the banner flew over the Etihad Stadium prior to the Premier League match with Manchester City on Monday evening.

The club swiftly moved to condemn and distance themselves from the actions and have now gone on to detail the potential punishment for those involved.

In a lengthy statement from club chairman Mike Garlick and CEO Neil Hart on the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement they said: “Burnley Football Club is opposed to any form of racism and discrimination of any kind.

“As custodians of the club, we stand firmly behind the statement condemning the message flown over the Etihad Stadium on Monday night and are fully in support of the words of club captain Ben Mee, delivered after the match.

“Black Lives Matter is a movement supported by all players in the Premier League and the league itself.

“While we naturally consider that all lives matter, let us be clear that the Black Lives Matter movement aims to overcome years of racial inequality against the BAME community and promote a greater fairness for all.

“We at Burnley therefore stand firmly behind it and oppose anything that may appear to undermine or challenge such a positive message.”

The statement added: “The club operates a zero-tolerance stance on discrimination of any form at Turf Moor and is increasingly issuing lifetime bans for supporters that incite racism and hatred.

“This punishment will also be meted out to those responsible for Monday’s regrettable incident.”

Lancashire Police say they are looking into the incident to see whether any criminal offences had taken place.

The aircraft took off and landed at Blackpool Airport, which said it would stop operating banner flights in the wake of the incident while Burnley MP Antony Higginbotham has also joined the condemnation of the banner.

“This crass publicity stunt was done with the intention of offending and causing hurt to so many in our community and those responsible should be ashamed of their desire to divide people,” he said.

“They do not speak for the town and the club has my full support in finding out who they are and taking action.

“These attitudes have no place in Burnley or our society. We should be working together to tackle inequality rather than using people’s race, religion or background to divide our community. I will keep working with the Premier League and Burnley to stamp out prejudice and discrimination.”