Crystal Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey did not know what a Nazi salute was when he was caught on camera allegedly making the offensive gesture, a Football Association panel concluded.
Earlier this month he was cleared of making the gesture during a club meal to celebrate his team’s FA Cup win against Grimsby in January.
In a picture posted on Instagram by his German teammate Max Meyer, Hennessey appears to be raising one arm in a straight line while his other hand is held over his upper lip.
It bears similarity to a salute used as a greeting in Nazi Germany as a signal of obedience to Adolf Hitler, and is now widely deemed as a highly offensive gesture.
The regulatory commission has now published its written reasons for clearing the footballer, which include details of his defence.
The panel said the goalkeeper displayed “a very
considerable – one might even say lamentable – degree of ignorance” about anything to do with Nazi Germany and Hitler.
Two members of the three-person panel believed the gesture had been “misinterpreted” while the other said the “only plausible explanation” was that Hennessey intended to make the salute.
The goalkeeper said to the pane 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”.
He also submitted photographs to the panel of him making similar gestures during matches to attract the attention of teammates.
The panel said other pictures from the night out showed Hennessey’s arm “raised in slightly different but comparable postures”.
In the report, the FA said Hennessey “categorically denied” he was giving a Nazi salute.
“Indeed, from the outset he said that he did not even know what one was. Improbable as that may seem to those of us of an older generation, we do not reject that assertion as untrue.”
The report continued that while it was “regrettable” that anyone should be unaware of such an important part of world history, they did not believe he was lying about his lack of knowledge on the subject.
“All we would say (at the risk of sounding patronising) is that Mr Hennessey would be well advised to familiarise himself with events which continue to
have great significance to those who live in a free country.”
In a statement on the club’s website following the panel clearing him of the charge, Hennessey said: “I’m delighted that the FA have found me not guilty of this charge.
“This was a genuinely innocent moment, which appeared to be something completely different when captured on camera.
“I want to state for the record that I abhor all forms of racism, fascism, anti-semitism or discrimination of any kind.”