Foto: Shaun Botterill / via Reuters / Scanpix.

Jake Hepple, en 24 år gammel Burnley-tilhenger som tok initiativ til å fly et banner med påskriften «White lives matter» like etter at spillerne hadde knelt før en fotballkamp sist mandag, ble onsdag sparket fra jobben som sveiser i det Lancashire-baserte ingeniørfirmaet Paradigm Precision.

Også Hepples kjæreste Megan Rambadt (21) har fått sparken fra sin jobb som skjønnhetspleier i Burnley, skriver Daily Mail.

Bakgrunnen for avskjedigelsen av Hepple er en anklage om at han er rasist, noe han selv avviser på det sterkeste:

Jake Hepple, 24, was dismissed from his role as a welder at Lancashire-based Paradigm Precision this afternoon, with the company saying it ‘did not condone or tolerate racism in any form’.

He said: ‘I’m not racist. I know people are trying to make out to be one but I’m not. I’ve got lots of Black and Asian friends and this banner was actually inspired by the Black Lives Movement.

Alle liv teller, også hvite liv, fastholder Hepple, som hadde samlet inn penger fra ca. 60 andre fans for å chartre maskinen som fløy med banneret:

‘We were not trying to offend the movement or black people. I believe that it’s also important to acknowledge that white lives matter too. That’s all we were trying to say.’

24-åringen er ikke desto mindre blitt utestengt fra fotballklubben på livstid. Han mener alle har overreagert på noe han fremdeles står ved:

Mr Hepple, who has been given a lifetime ban from Burnley FC, had already been warned he was facing the sack, and said in response: ‘My employer, the club and so many other people have completely overreacted to what’s happened.’

Politiet har fortalt at han ikke har gjort noe kriminelt, sier Hepple, som ble ytterligere ansporet til sitt banner-stunt etter trippeldrapet i Reading som politiet sier var terror.

Jake og Megan mistet begge jobben etter at Jake tok initiativ til å fly «White lives matter»-banneret i Burnley.

Kjæresten ble fryktelig lei seg da også hun mistet jobben, forteller Hepple:

He said: ‘She hasn’t stopped crying. Everybody is making her out to be a nasty, racist monster but she’s not like that at all.

Burnleys kaptein sier han skammer seg. Han mener at initiativtagerne til banneret bør omskoleres til den nye tiden:

‘I am ashamed and embarrassed that a small number of our fans have decided to fly that around the stadium,’ he said. ‘It is not what we are about.

‘They have missed what we are trying to achieve. These people need to come into the 21st century and educate themselves. They don’t represent what we are about, the club is about, the players are about and the majority of fans are about.

Også flyplassen tar avstand fra det som skjedde:

Blackpool Airport, which was used by the plane, announced it had suspended all banner towing operations ‘with immediate effect’ and said it ‘did not condone’ the message.

Det samme gjør luftfartsmyndighetene:

Richard Moriarty, Chief Executive of the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said:

‘I condemn the actions of those responsible for the banner flown over the Etihad Stadium.

Vi lever i en gal verden, hvor det er rasistisk å si at hvite liv teller rett etter at tre hvite er myrdet i en park i Reading, oppsummerer Hepple.

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