Simon Jordan has sparked a backlash following comments he made about Liverpool fans, with Liverpool West Derby MP Ian Byrne demanding an apology to the families affected by the Hillsborough disaster and its survivors. The former Crystal Palace chairman was discussing the VAR error that saw Liverpool wrongly denied a goal during their Premier League clash with Tottenham when he made his comments.
The Hillsborough disaster in 1989 led to 97 fans, who were mainly supporting Liverpool, losing their lives due to overcrowding issues at the stadium as the Reds took on Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semi-finals in Sheffield. The initial coroner’s inquest in 1991 concluded verdicts of “accidental deaths” with families forced to battle for justice for their loved ones.
That original verdict was eventually quashed in 2012, with a new inquest deciding in 2016 that the fans who died were unlawfully killed and that multiple police failings led to their deaths.
On Tuesday, Jordan debated the topics of the day for talkSPORT, with the VAR incident that cost Liverpool a goal just one of the issues to be addressed. And the 56-year-old said: “You’ll build up this conspiracy theory, this victim culture of Liverpool fans being penalised by a goal that’s been disallowed.”
The comments didn’t go down well with many supporters, with Byrne subsequently writing to the radio station’s chiefs. “I have written to @talkSPORT re the use of the term ‘victim culture’ by Simon Jordon,” Byrne wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday evening.
“He is fully aware of its use by rival supporters against LFC, its connotations to Hillsborough & how its use undermines what many supporters are doing to tackle tragedy chanting.”
In his post, the MP included a copy of his letter, which read: “Always the victim. A phrase that has been too commonly sung on terraces over the last three decades in reference to Hillsborough.
“It is essential to recognise the Hillsborough connotations of the term ‘victim culture’ in regard to Liverpool fans; it is not a culture but refers to an actual tragedy of which there were victims.
“This fills me with both profound sadness and anger. Simon Jordan knows the truth about Hillsborough and yet has chosen to propagate this smear to millions of listeners. This type of behaviour from someone with a significant media profile sets back the collective efforts of so many who are trying to end this toxic discourse.
“I therefore urge you to, at the very least, ask Mr Jordan to reflect on his comments, apologise to the families and survivors of the Hillsborough disaster and commit to not using the phrase again.”
