Manchester United condemn chants over Hillsborough disaster sung at Anfield
Manchester United have condemned chanting about the Hillsborough disaster at last night's game at Anfield.
Manchester United have condemned chanting about the Hillsborough disaster at last night's game at Anfield.
Before, during and after the match - sections of the crowd could be heard singong on several occasions. A crush during the 1989 FA Cup semi final between Liverpool & Nottingham Forrest wgucg saw 96 fans killed, was the subject of chats referring to media coverage at the time.
A statement from Manchester United in the wake of Thursday's events read: It has always been the position of Manchester United that chants of this nature, which refer to historical tragedies, have no place in the game and do not reflect the values the club holds.
"We are in discussion with our fans' groups to seek their support in preventing this type of behavior in the future."
Chants from the away end were also reported to have focused on the Heysel disaster.
It's the first time that vile chants have been heard during this fixture, with some Liverpool supporters having previously sung about the Munich air disaster that claimed 23 lives as United flew back from a European fixture in 1958.
Merseyside Police have yet to receive any complaints about Thursday's incident, but Match Commander Chief Superintendent Jon Ward has pledged to take action if that changes.
He said "We have received no complaints relating to chanting by supporters at (Thursday) night's match but are aware of media coverage,"
"Merseyside Police take all reports seriously and where offences are identified, we would investigate such complaints thoroughly"
"The vast majority of fans behaved impeccably and enjoyed the occasion for what it was - a highly competitive football match between two passionate clubs and their supporters"
"A great deal of work went into planning for the match involving the clubs, the police and most importantly the fans."
"The safety of all fans attending Anfield on match day will always be our absolute priority but we can only achieve this through the professionalism of the people who work at the event and through the co-operation of the fans themselves.''
Thursday's chants were described as "disgusting'' by ex-United striker Dion Dublin, while former Liverpool midfielder Ray Houghton said it was "dreadful''. "There were people in the crowd who lost loved ones at Hillsborough and that's really hard to take,''
"It should have been a night of celebration - they haven't played each other in a European tie before. The fans should have been getting behind their own team. "When you stoop as low as they did (on Thursday) night, for me, it's dreadful."
The second leg of the Europa League last-16 tie between United and Liverpool takes place at Old Trafford on March 17.