Kind-hearted Sheffield Wednesday fans praised for 'amazing' gesture at Sunderland game

Supporters of Sheffield Wednesday have been praised for a classy gesture during their recent match against Sunderland, as heartwarming efforts to turn one fan’s abhorrent actions into something positive continue.

The Owls officially avoided relegation on Saturday (May 4, 2024), when a 2-0 win against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light secured their place in the Championship for another season.

But there was a silver lining for fans of the Black Cats, after Sheffield Wednesday fans dug deep and collectively donated £841.37 to the Bradley Lowery Foundation charity, through collection buckets deployed at the away end turnstiles.

The charity was set up in memory of Bradley Lowery, a beloved Sunderland AFC fan and mascot who tragically lost his battle against cancer at the age of six.

Brooke Mitchell, a fundraising and family support worker for the Bradley Lowery Foundation, told The Star’s sister paper, The Sunderland Echo: “We are so incredibly grateful for the amazing support we have received from the football community. The incredible fans on Saturday helped raise an unbelievable £841.37 for our charity. Everyone was so friendly and their kind words really brought a tear to our eyes.”

Little Bradley had Stage 4 High Risk Neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive form of childhood cancer, and The Bradley Lowery Foundation aims to support families who are fundraising for treatment or equipment, which is not readily available or covered by the NHS. It follows on from his family’s fundraising efforts to get Bradley the treatment he needed in the USA, which was not available in the UK.

During the course of the last 12 months, Sheffield Wednesday fans also raised a whopping total of £29,140 for the Bradley Lowery Foundation in a superb show of solidarity to Gemma Lowery and her family.

The gesture came after Sheffield Wednesday fan Dale Houghton, from Rotherham, was seen laughing as he held up an image of the six-year-old, who sadly died of cancer in 2017, at a match against Sunderland.

Houghton’s actions were met with widespread condemnation by Owls fans, and he was subsequently charged with, and pleaded guilty to, an offence of intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress by displaying any writing, sign or other visible representation, which is threatening, abusive or insulting.

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During a hearing held at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court in November 2023, Judge Marcus Waite sentenced Houghton, then aged 32, to 12 weeks' custody, and said that while he felt a custodial sentence was 'inevitable' he would suspend it for 18 months.

In a statement read to the court, Bradley's mother, Gemma Lowery said Bradley was 'the light of our life for six years,' adding that she had been left feeling 'very upset' after learning about the incident.

She said Houghton's actions were not just 'disrespectful' to Bradley, but he had also 'caused emotional turmoil to other ill children'.

Judge Waite told Houghton that in addition to adding to the 'trauma' of a 'grieving' family, his 'utterly appalling' and 'disgraceful' behaviour also risked provoking a 'more serious' response from those in attendance.

He described Bradley as a brave young man who was rightly held in 'highest esteem by football fans everywhere'.

Houghton also received a five-year football banning order and was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement and to pay total costs of £239.

For more information about the Bradley Lowery Foundation, please visit: https://bradleyloweryfoundation.com/