Oxford United Apologises for United 93 Clothing Blunder

Oxford United have pulled a new clothing range and issued an apology after releasing items branded with "United 93" – the call sign of one of the planes hijacked in the 9/11 attacks.

The design was intended to reference the club’s origins in 1893, but the club admitted the range had gone on sale "without understanding of the historical context and associations".

The phrase "United 93" is indelibly linked to United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on 11 September 2001 after being hijacked. All 44 people on board were killed. The flight later became the subject of the 2006 docudrama film United 93.

Oxford United, founded in 1893 as amateur side Headington and now playing in League One, had incorporated the "United 93" wording into its Campus Clothing line.

The club confirmed the products had been removed from sale and accepted full responsibility.

In a statement, Oxford United said the Campus Clothing range had been withdrawn and that it "sincerely apologised" for the mistake.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," the statement read.

"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 members hijack four commercial airliners in the United States. Two were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, causing both skyscrapers to collapse.

A third aircraft struck the Pentagon near Washington DC. The fourth, United 93, crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania and is believed to have been headed for the US Capitol Building.

In total, 2,977 people were killed in the attacks, with tens of thousands more injured – a scale of loss that still shapes how any reference to "United 93" is received, even more than two decades on.