American fan among eight detained for tragedy chanting at Liverpool vs Manchester United | OneFootball

An American man was among eight people detained following reports of tragedy chanting at Liverpool’s match against Manchester United on Sunday.

Merseyside Police said a 28-year-old man from Tennessee was arrested under section five of the Public Order Act, which relates to tragedy chanting.

A 46-year-old man from Nottinghamshire was also arrested, while five other men aged between 21 and 59 and a 52-year-old woman from Manchester were asked to voluntarily attend interviews on suspicion of the same offence.

Last season, former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and former United boss Erik ten Hag had urged supporters of both rival clubs to refrain from making taunts relating to tragedies.

It came after two United supporters were arrested in connection with chants relating to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, which led to the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans.

United have also been targeted for tragedy chants, relating to the 1958 Munich Air Disaster in which eight of Sir Matt Busby’s team lost their lives.

“Football fans who chant about tragedies cause huge distress to those families and people directly affected,” chief inspector Lisa Ledder said.

“The tragic loss of life is not a subject for tribal point scoring, and this behaviour has absolutely no place in football. Regardless of team affiliation, we will continue to work with clubs to take action to identify and bring any perpetrators to justice.

“I hope the arrests of these individuals sends a clear message and acts as a deterrent to others that you risk getting a criminal record and ending up in custody if you choose to engage in this despicable behaviour.”

Liverpool and Manchester United played out a 2-2 draw in the Premier League match at Anfield.