Another Manchester United fan arrested over tragedy chanting during FA Cup tie

Greater Manchester Police have confirmed the arrest of a second home fan for tragedy chanting during Liverpool's 4-3 FA Cup defeat to Manchester United on Sunday afternoon. Simultaneously, a visiting supporter has been charged with throwing missiles into the home sections of Old Trafford.

According to the local police force, in addition to the 21-year-old United fan apprehended on Sunday on suspicion of participating in such chants, another supporter, 59, was arrested on Monday for the same offence.

Throughout the game at Old Trafford, a minority of home supporters were heard chanting "always the victims" and "murderers" both inside the ground and on TV broadcasts.

As quoted by the Daily Mail, Chief Inspector Jamie Collins, GMP's Silver Commander for the match, emphasised that the police are taking a zero-tolerance approach to such behaviour, stating, "Incidents of tragedy chanting will not be tolerated and will be dealt with robustly."

The Football Association swiftly condemned the offensive chanting, too, with an FA spokesperson saying, "We strongly condemn any offensive, abusive and discriminatory chants in football stadiums, and we are determined to stamp this behaviour out."

Criminal offences

In the buildup to this FA Cup quarter-final clash, discussions between governing bodies and the Crown Prosecution Service had determined that singing derogatory songs about tragedies such as Munich and Hillsborough would be treated as criminal offences.

This crackdown on offensive chanting comes after three United supporters were arrested in December for chants related to Hillsborough during the Premier League clash at Anfield.

Missiles and pyro

These incidents overshadowed what was otherwise a thrilling cup tie, at least from a United perspective, culminating in a last-minute victory for the hosts in extra time through Amad Diallo.

However, the incidents of disruption were not limited to offensive chanting. Overall, a total of eight arrests and one charge have been made in relation to Sunday's game so far.

A 39-year-old Liverpool fan, who has been released on bail, faces charges of possession of a class B drug, possession of a pyrotechnic and throwing missiles. Additionally, another visiting supporter was arrested on suspicion of possessing a pyrotechnic device.

Incidents of objects being hurled by Liverpool supporters into sections housing United fans were reported during the game, too, including one incident where an object landed in the area designated for disabled fans.

Video footage also captured a red smoke bomb thrown from the Liverpool end into the wheelchair section following Mohamed Salah's goal.

Another flare was launched from the upper tier of the East Stand, where Liverpool fans were seated, landing dangerously close to a young fan attending the match with his father.

Two United fans, aged 19 and 31, were also arrested for a racially aggravated public order offence and pitch encroachment, respectively.

Furthermore, three Liverpool fans, aged 36, 26 and 31, were held on suspicion of possessing class A drugs.