Harold Shipman at NRL game as ‘Fan In The Stands’ scheme abused
- Killer of 15 seen among cardboard cut-outs sent in by rugby fans as part of league’s ‘Fan in the Stands’ scheme
- One Twitter user tried to send image of murderous doctor to German Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach
There was controversy in the stands at the NRL game between the Penrith Panthers and Newcastle Knights on Sunday despite the game being played behind closed doors in the Sydney suburb.
A cardboard cut-out of notorious British killer Harold Shipman was spotted in the stands. The GP, known as “Doctor Death”, was charged with murdering 15 patients under his care in 2000 but is believed to have been involved in potentially hundreds more deaths.
Eagle eyed fans spotted Shipman’s image among the cardboard cut-outs put in place at Penrith Stadium as part of the NRL’s “Fan in the Stands” campaign.
Supporters were invited to watch from the stands even with no fans allowed in the ground by sending in their photographs and paying AU$22 (US$14.80). Several fans chose to send in photographs of themselves or even their dogs but one sent in Shipman.
“We are reviewing the vetting process for Fan in the Stand,” an NRL spokesman said, as reported by The Guardian. “The weekend was a trial run and trials are designed to iron out issues.”
It was not a sports fan’s first attempt to get Shipman into a stadium since leagues began opening up after coronavirus suspensions.
German Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach offered supporters a similar scheme where they could pay 19 euro (US$21.16) to upload a photo of their choosing.
One Twitter user in England called “Daniel” shared an image of his order confirmation and a picture of Shipman in response to a tweet from the club’s official account: “The home stands are filling up nicely though! Over 4,500 cut-outs in place and 12,000+ ordered.”
Britain’s Daily Star newspaper reported that the “the company who deal with the photos have now reportedly removed the picture of Shipman and contacted the person who made the request” on May 8 – a fortnight before the club’s first home game against Bayer Leverkusen at Borussia-Park on May 23.
The Shipman incident brings to mind a 2016 cricket match between England and India in Mumbai where fans abused the opportunity to send in messages of support to be shown on the big screen.
Messages that appeared on the screen at the Wankhede stadium purported to be from missing schoolgirl Madeleine McCann, imprisoned footballer Adam Johnson, and Elisabeth Fritzl, the Austrian who has held captive by her father for 24 years.
