Liverpool have condemned “vile chants relating to football stadium tragedies” during Sunday’s 1-0 Anfield win against Manchester City, issuing a statement that says the chants came from the section housing the away team’s supporters.
Chants of “murderers” and “always the victims, it’s never your fault,” were heard being sung during the first half of the game. Ninety-seven Liverpool supporters died as a result of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989; 39 Juventus supporters were killed during rioting in the stadium prior to the 1985 European Cup final against Liverpool at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels.
Rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United has previously resulted in chants about the Hillsborough disaster and the 1958 Munich air disaster being aired by rival fans. The two clubs have since worked closely to eradicate such chanting.
However, the chants about Hillsborough and Heysel were clearly audible during Sunday’s game against City, and Liverpool have said they will work with the Premier League champions to stamp out future incidents.
Liverpool have said that graffiti “associated with the disasters” was also found to have been daubed in the away section following the game.
“We are deeply disappointed to hear vile chants relating to football stadium tragedies from the away section during today’s game at Anfield,” the statement said.
“The concourse in the away section was also vandalised with graffiti of a similar nature.
“We know the impact such behaviour has on the families, survivors and all those associated with such disasters.
“We are working with the relevant authorities and we will also work with Manchester City in order to do our utmost to ensure these chants are eradicated from football altogether.”