Oxford United Apologises for ‘United 93’ Clothing Line Blunder

Oxford United have been forced into a public apology after launching a new clothing range featuring “United 93” on the back – the call sign of one of the planes hijacked during the 9/11 attacks.

The club said the design was intended to reference their founding year, 1893, but admitted the range went on sale “without understanding of the historical context and associations”.

The “Campus Clothing” line has now been pulled.

In a statement, the League One club accepted full responsibility for the mistake.

“It should not have reached the point of sale and we take full responsibility for not undertaking proper due diligence,” the club said. “We have removed the collection with immediate effect and are reviewing our approval processes to ensure nothing like this happens again.”

United Airlines Flight 93 was one of four commercial planes hijacked in the United States on 11 September 2001. It crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing all 44 people on board. Investigators believe the aircraft was headed for the US Capitol Building in Washington DC before passengers attempted to overpower the hijackers.

A docudrama titled United 93, released in 2006, later told the story of that flight.

The 9/11 attacks involved 19 Al Qaeda members seizing four passenger planes. Two were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, causing both skyscrapers to collapse. Another struck the Pentagon, near Washington DC. The fourth was Flight 93.

In total, 2,977 people were killed and tens of thousands injured.

Oxford United, originally founded as amateur side Headington in 1893, now compete in League One, the third tier of English football. The club say they are tightening internal checks after a piece of merchandise meant to celebrate that history instead touched one of the most sensitive scars in modern memory.