Bristol City FC has apologised after a message referencing an attack from 1988 which killed three people was displayed on matchday. The club admitted it was a "serious error" after a fan message seemingly praising Michael Stone, who was one of the most notorious paramilitaries of the Northern Ireland Troubles, was projected onto the screen at Ashton Gate Stadium on Saturday (April 29).
"Congratulations Michael Stone for beating Milltown 3-0 in the cup final,” the on-screen message read. "From dad.”
The Bristol football club, which suffered a 2-1 defeat against Burnley, said it is now reviewing the processes of messages displayed on matchdays.
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A club spokesperson said: “Bristol City would like to sincerely apologise for any offence caused by a message displayed on the screen at Ashton Gate this afternoon.
“We acknowledge that this was a serious error and the message that was sent into the club, one of many messages received and displayed on matchdays during the season, should never have got through our checking procedures. We will now review those processes and take every step to avoid something like this happening again.”
Michael Stone is an ex-member of the Ulster Defence Association, a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland fighting against the Provisional Irish Republican Army. On March 16, 1988, Stone singlehandedly staged an attack on a collective Provisional IRA funeral being held at Milltown Cemetery in Belfast using multiple grenades and two handguns.
The attack killed three, including one member of the IRA, and left more than 60 people injured. He was convicted of three counts of murder committed at an IRA funeral in 1988.
He served 27 years behind bars for a string of killings. In 2000, Stone was released from prison after 13 years under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement but reconvicted for the Milltown attack after it went to a court of appeal in 2013.
Stone was released from prison on parole in 2021.
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