adminMANCHESTER UNITED will not be punished by Uefa after some of their fans sang offensive Hillsborough disaster chants in a Europa League defeat at Liverpool.
United’s Marouane Fellaini has also escaped sanction for an alleged elbow on Emre Can in the final moments.
Uefa decided to take no action as neither incident was mentioned in the match officials’ report.
Liverpool won the first leg of their last-16 tie 2-0 at Anfield and the return takes place on Thursday.
Officials are set to pay closer attention to chants at Old Trafford.
United have said such chants “have no place in the game”.
Ninety-six Liverpool fans died in an FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough between the Reds and Nottingham Forest in 1989.
The Old Trafford club have previously been subject to offensive chants themselves concerning the 1958 Munich air disaster, in which eight players and three club officials were among 23 people who lost their lives in a crash following a European Cup tie.
Former Liverpool midfielder Ray Houghton told BBC Radio 5 live the chants at Anfield last Thursday were “dreadful”, while ex-Manchester United striker Dion Dublin called them “disgusting”.
A story in the Sun newspaper four days after the Hillsborough disaster criticised the behaviour of Liverpool fans at the game. The newspaper is still widely boycotted in Merseyside as a result.
“There were chants during the first half – ‘the Sun was right’, referring to the Hillsborough tragedy,” said BBC Sport’s Juliette Ferrington, who was at Anfield.
“It wasn’t continuous but it was clearly audible, maybe four or five times. It kind of got drowned out. The noise at the game was deafening.” — BBC Sport
Online Reporter