Man who reported Hillsborough troll 'did it for the 97'

'I stood up to Hillsborough troll for the 97'

7 minutes ago

Tom Dunn & Andy GillNorth West

A survivor of the Hillsborough disaster who reported to police a man who posted distressing comments about the tragedy has said he "did it for the 97".

Paul O'Neill, 50, from Manchester, was last week was handed a suspended prison sentence for mocking Hillsborough victims and describing the disaster as a "great day".

Marco Catena, who was in pen three at Sheffield Wednesday's ground on 15 April 1989 saw O'Neill's Facebook comments in October 2022 and reported him to the police.

He said it had been a "frustrating" three-year wait to see O'Neill brought to justice, but that he hoped the company director now realised how hurtful his actions were.

O'Neill, from Old Trafford, was last week sentenced to 13 months in prison, suspended for two years, for sending malicious communications on an online football forum.

Judge Bernadette Baxter said O'Neill's actions "were a deliberate act to cause hurt and distress to other people".

'No deterrent'

Mr Catena, from Prenton, Wirral, said: "I hope that Paul O'Neill now sits there and thinks [he has to change].

"I hope that he can sit there now and go 'I have to sort my life out'.

"He's not some 16-year-old scally. What does it take for a 50-year-old person to say those things about people who died?"

Mr Catena said "there was no deterrent in place" to control abusive online messages being sent to those affected by the Hillsborough disaster, adding they were "popping up every day".

The 60-year-old said O'Neill's comments were the worst Hillsborough-related comments he had ever come across.

He said the messages were full of "venom".

"The words he used, the way he assembled his comments, with detailed stuff, horrendous stuff... he set out to hurt and to upset as many people as he could," he added.

Mr Catena said while it took three years to see O'Neill convicted and it was "frustrating and draining", he had refused to give up and had felt compelled to take action "for the 97, for every survivor".

"I'm standing up for every person who's been affected since April 1989," he said.

O'Neill was tried in his absence at Manchester Magistrates' Court after failing to turn up for trial on 12 August last year.

At the sentencing hearing, his barrister said he had "expressed deep regret" and "recognises that a previous conviction for racially aggravated verbal abuse will not help his case".

He said O'Neill had been reacting to other posts that mentioned the Munich air disaster, the 1958 runway crash that killed eight of Manchester United's famous "Busby Babes" team.

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