Leeds United apology made to QPR after regrettable Loftus Road incident

Apologies have been made to Queens Park Rangers and knife crime activist Mark Prince after Leeds United supporters were heard booing his half-time speech. Mr Prince’s son Kiyan, a QPR youth prospect, was fatally stabbed in 2006 and since then he has fought to tackle knife crime.

During the break in Friday’s match, Mr Prince took to the field and delivered a motivational speech to spectators. Before he had finished, there were audible boos from the away end and, today, apologies have been extended by Leeds United Supporters’ Trust and Leeds United Supporters’ Club.

“LUST and LUSC would like to address the booing during Mark Prince's speech at half-time of last night's game, and would like to offer our sincere apologies,” a statement said. “To provide some context, the fans in the away end were unable to hear the content being spoken due to the quality of the sound system or see the big screen, which led to a frustrated and unfortunate reaction during Mark's speech.

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“Leeds United have spoken to us and said they weren't made aware Mark was going to be speaking at half-time, otherwise communications would have been issued to supporters before the game. The club will also be reaching out to QPR and Mark individually to apologise for the incident.

“As a group of fans that know all too well the dangers of knife crime, we would like to assure those connected to Mark and the wider QPR family, had our fans understood the importance and sensitive nature of the speech last night, in no way would Leeds fans have reacted in the way they did. We also want to acknowledge the great work the Kiyan Prince Foundation does.

“We pass on our sincere apologies to Mark, his family, the fans and to QPR.”