Sheffield Wednesday issue statement on 'abhorrent' behaviour following tragic death of West Brom fan

West Brom and the footballing world are still coming to terms with the terribly sad news that lifetime fan Mark Townsend passed away at Hillsborough on Saturday.

Albion’s players and staff are set to wear black armbands on Tuesday night as they take on Middlesbrough, while there will be a minute’s applause in the 57th minute to honour Mark’s memory.

Thousands of tributes have poured in since the news broke, both online and in person at The Hawthorns and Hillsborough.

That respect has been shared pretty much everywhere, however one individual - a Wednesday season ticket holder - made a highly offensive post on X (formerly Twitter). The content will not be repeated as not to cause further upset, but the account holder has since been arrested and charged by police.

Wednesday have assured the individual will never be welcomed back at the football club. A statement in full reads: “Sheffield Wednesday can confirm a lifetime ban from all club activities and premises for the individual responsible for an abhorrent social media post.

“The post was relative to the tragic passing of West Bromwich Albion supporter Mark Townsend following a medical emergency at Hillsborough on Saturday.

“The individual has been charged by the police and will face the full force of the law. We condemn absolutely this outrageous behaviour and underline our zero tolerance policy towards unlawful activity on all social media platforms.

“Our thoughts remain with the loved ones of Mr Townsend and the wider West Bromwich Albion community at this incredibly difficult time.”