Richard Crisp was charged by South Yorkshire Police for ‘malicious communications’ shared on social media after a death at the stadium on Saturdayvv
Wates dismissed an employee for reportedly mocking the murder of a West Bromwich Albion fan and the victims of the Hillsborough disaster on social media.
The posters followed the death of 57-year-old Mark Townsend, who became ill after a football match between Albion and Sheffield Wednesday last Saturday.
Following the match, a tweet from a user named Richard Crisp read: “Another one to add to the Leppings Lane tally.” What are we now at, 98? When we reach 100, we’ll have a party. “Up, Owls.”
The Leppings Lane end is the visitors’ stand at Hillsborough Stadium, where Sheffield Wednesday (nicknamed the Owls) plays their home games.
In 1989, 97 Liverpool fans died in a tragic crush at the stadium, which was caused in part by South Yorkshire Police’s failure to maintain crowd control.
According to LinkedIn, Richard Crisp has been a project manager at Wates since July of last year and is situated in Sheffield.
He formerly worked as a construction manager and site manager for companies such as Vinci, Engie, Wildgoose Henry Boot, and Galliford Try.
In a post to X, formerly known as Twitter, Wates stated, “We can confirm that Richard Crisp is no longer employed by the Wates Group.”
“His comments over the weekend were extremely unacceptable and contradicted our company’s principles.
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“We offer our deepest sympathies to everyone affected by the tragedy at the West Bromwich Albion game this weekend and to all those who lost loved ones at Hillsborough.”
South Yorkshire Police announced that Crisp, 55, of Hillsborough, had been “charged following malicious communications shared on social media after a man sadly died during the Sheffield Wednesday v West Bromwich Albion fixture on Saturday 28 September”.
“Richard Crisp, 55, from Hillsborough, is charged with sending communication/article of an indecent or offensive nature,” the force stated in a statement.
“He has been released on police bail until his court appearance at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court on 14 October 2024.”
In his recent speech at the Labour Conference, Keir Starmer announced that the government would introduce “a law for the 97” by next April, in time for the 35th anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy.
The proposal, which would impose a ‘duty of candour’ on public authorities, requiring them to be truthful and transparent with the public, was among the recommendations made in the Grenfell Inquiry report, which was released earlier this month.
Read more news on:sportupdates.co.uk
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