Crystal Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey has been cleared by the Football Association after an alleged Nazi salute saw the Welshman charged after the FA Cup win over Grimsby.
Hennessey was pictured with his arm in the air in a photo posted on Instagram by team-mate Max Meyer, with the shot-stopper speaking out in the aftermath to state any resemblance to the Nazi gesture was “absolutely coincidental”.
Hennessey spoke out to say that he “waved and shouted at the person taking the picture to get on with it” and “put my hand over my mouth to make the sound carry”.
“This was a genuinely innocent moment, which appeared to be something completely different when captured on camera,” he said following the FA’s decision on Friday.
“I want to state for the record that I abhor all forms of racism, fascism, anti-Semitism or discrimination of any kind,” he added.
Fans reaction to the decision has been extremely split.
“Utterly astonished that people are carping about the decision to clear Wayne Hennessey of doing a Nazi salute. Anyone would think the FA had found a Nazi porn dungeon underneath his house and failed to act on it” said user @BenDirs1 on Twitter.
Palace manager Roy Hodgson said: “I believe Wayne and his people were there eight hours yesterday putting their case forward. I’m very happy with the outcome because I always believed him to be innocent.”
Hennessey will now be available for Palace’s next Premier League game against Newcastle on Saturday.
