Three-year stadium ban given to Newcastle United fan for Munich Air Disaster comments

A man caught on camera making hateful comments about the Munich Air Disaster has received a country-wide stadium ban.

James Blake was arrested after a video showing him making comments about the disaster was circulated on social media.

The video followed Newcastle United's 1-0 over Manchester City at St James' Park on September 27.

Northumbria Police were made aware of the video the following day and within 24 hours, Blake was arrested.

On September 29, the 42-year-old was charged with a public order offence, namely disorderly conduct.

He pleaded guilty to the offence when he attended North Tyneside Magistrates' Court on October 27.

Today (Thursday, January 4), he appeared back at the same court where he was handed a three-year football banning order.

The order means that he is prohibited from entering any premises for the purpose of attending any regulated football matches in the United Kingdom.

He is also banned from travelling overseas to watch international friendlies, qualification matches and tournaments.

Magistrates also agreed to additional strict conditions, which include banning him from being within a designated radius of St James’ Park on matchdays.

He must not step within a mile radius of an away ground in England and Wales where a game involving Newcastle or England is being played.

Newcastle United have confirmed that Blake's season ticket has been revoked, with the club reinforcing its commitment to eradicating tragedy-related chants and gestures in football.

A spokesperson for the club said: "Tragedy-related chanting and gesturing is completely unacceptable and Newcastle United is committed to working with authorities and the wider football community to eradicate it."

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Superintendent Paul Walters, of Northumbria Police, hopes that Blake's sentence will serve as a reminder to football fans that they should be mindful of the lasting consequences of their actions.

He commented: “This kind of hateful speech has absolutely no place in our communities or online, and we know this kind of behaviour isn’t representative of the overwhelming majority of football fans.

“Many of you will have seen the original video circulating, and we would like to thank those of you who reported it to us in the first instance and allowed us to act.

“I am therefore pleased that the seriousness of James Blake’s offence has been recognised by the courts and I am grateful for the restrictions which are now stringently placed on him.

“I hope this reinforces our commitment to taking action against anybody who commits this type of crime – it will not be tolerated and we will do all we can to put perpetrators before the courts.

“I would like to thank everyone who played their part in this particular case, including the team of officers who worked tirelessly to secure justice as well as our colleagues at Newcastle United.”

The Munich Air Disaster took place on February 6, 1958, when a flight carrying the Manchester United football team crashed while attempting to take off.

As a result of the incident, 23 of the 44 people who were on board of the plane died.