Burnley sent out a clear message to the supporters responsible for the ‘White Lives Matter’ plane stunt by unveiling their own anti-racism banners upon their Turf Moor return on Thursday night.
The individual responsible for the offensive banner, which was flown above the Etihad on Monday night, has been sacked from his job at an engineering firm.
Burnley fan Jake Hepple was dismissed from Lancashire-based Paradigm Precision on Wednesday.
And ahead of their Premier League meeting with Watford, the Clarets further pledged their support to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Two banners situated in the Jimmy McIlroy stand were clearly visible, one of which read ‘one club for all’ while the other said: ‘This is everyone v discrimination’.
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Burnley were quick to condemn the banner following the 5-0 thrashing at Manchester City, with manager Sean Dyche stressing that a small minority’s behaviour should not reflect badly on the town or the club as a whole.
“As a club all we can do is attempt to put out the right message and you know the amount of work done in the community here,” Dyche said.
“What has been achieved in the community over the last five years has been nothing short of fantastic, in terms of the links in the community and the number of people affected, and we don’t wish for that to be undermined by a few making a statement that is unacceptable.”
