Oxford United Apologises for Clothing Range Mistake
Oxford United have been forced into an apology after launching a new clothing range featuring “United 93” on the back – unintentionally echoing the call sign of one of the planes hijacked during the 9/11 attacks.
The club said the design was meant to reference their founding year, 1893, but admitted the range had gone on sale “without understanding of the historical context and associations”.
The phrase “United 93” is inseparable from United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked on 11 September 2001 and crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. All 44 people on board were killed. The story was later retold in the 2006 docudrama film United 93.
Oxford United, formed in 1893 as Headington, now compete in League One, the third tier of English football. The controversial items were part of their Campus Clothing line.
In a statement, the club confirmed the range had been pulled from sale and issued a direct apology.
“The Campus Clothing range has been withdrawn,” the statement read, adding that the club “sincerely apologised” for the mistake. “It should not have reached the point of sale and we take full responsibility for not undertaking proper due diligence.
“We have removed the collection with immediate effect and are reviewing our approval processes to ensure nothing like this happens again.”
The 9/11 attacks saw 19 Al Qaeda operatives hijack four commercial flights in the United States. Two were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, bringing both skyscrapers down. A third hit the Pentagon, just outside Washington DC.
The fourth, United 93, never reached its suspected target – believed to be the US Capitol Building in Washington – and crashed in rural Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to overpower the hijackers.
In total, 2,977 people were killed in the attacks, with tens of thousands more injured. The weight of that history turned a routine merchandise launch into a stark lesson in how a single number on a shirt can carry a very different meaning beyond football.
