Police drop probe into 'White Lives Matter' banner flown during match
Lancashire Police say no criminal offense was committed when a banner reading "White Lives Matter Burnley" was flown above the Etihad Stadium during Monday's match between Manchester City and Burnley.
"After assessing all the information available surrounding this incident we have concluded that there are no criminal offenses that have been disclosed at this time," chief superintendent Russ Procter said. "We will continue to work with our partners at the football club and within the local authority."
A plane towed the message over the stadium just after the players took a knee on the pitch as part of the league's continued show of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Earlier on Tuesday, The Guardian's Ben Quinn and Jim Waterson reported the banner may have been linked with a football hooligan firm. One Burnley fan with connections to the former leader of a right-wing organization, the English Defence League, claimed responsibility online before deleting his social media presence, the report added.
Air Ads, an "aerial advertising and banner-towing company" based in northern England, provided the plane, according to Quinn and Waterson. Blackpool Airport, where the plane took off from and landed, has since suspended banner-towing operations.
Burnley moved quickly to condemn the banner and what it represents, vowing to impose "lifetime bans" on those responsible.
Clarets captain Ben Mee said the incident made him feel "ashamed" and "embarrassed," and he urged people to "come into the 21st century and educate themselves." Former club captain Frank Sinclair and current chairman Mike Garlick also spoke out and denounced the stunt.
"As an ex-Burnley captain, I feel I need to show my disappointment when I saw that sign above the stadium at a club many Black players have represented," Sinclair, who is Black, tweeted Monday. "Please understand the message #BlackLivesMatters is for the good of humanity, not just Black lives."
Garlick, meanwhile, vowed to "root out these racists."