Hennessey to face no charges over alleged Nazi salute

Crystal Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey will face no charges for an alleged Nazi salute after the Football Association charge was not proven by an independent regulatory commission.

The incident occurred after Palace’s 1-0 FA Cup victory over Grimsby Town in January and was posted to Instagram by German team-mate Max Meyer.

The Welsh shot-stopped had denied the allegations and said the resemblance to a Nazi salute was “absolutely coincidental”.

Hennessey, 32, explained that he was gesturing for the photo to be taken quickly. He said he “waved and shouted at the person taking the picture to get on with it.” and that he put his hand over his mouth to “make the sound carry”.

Following the FA’s ruling he maintained his innocence.

“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.”

Eagles manager Roy Hodgson stood by his goalkeeper and was happy with the decision the investigation reached.

“I believe Wayne and his people were there eight hours yesterday putting their case forward,” he said, “I’m very happy with the outcome because I always believed him to be innocent.”