Manchester United fans have been roundly condemned for chanting a vile Hillsborough-related taunt to Liverpool supporters on Tuesday night.
The Reds wiped the floor with their rivals on the pitch, beating them 4-0 and footage has since emerged of grotesque behaviour in the away end.
United fans in the video spread widely on social media could be heard singing: ‘The Sun was right, you’re murderers’.
Anfield had earlier joined together in the seventh minute to applaud and then sing a special rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone as a gesture of support to Cristiano Ronaldo, who missed the match following the tragic death of his newborn son.
In spite of the classy move from Liverpool fans to honour the opposition striker, a section of travelling United supporters opted to mock their rivals for the death of 97 supporters at Hillsborough.
Hillsborough remains the biggest sporting disaster in British history and it is 33 years since the crush before the 1989 FA Cup semi-final.
A total of 95 fans were killed on the day or in the aftermath of the incident, with Tony Bland then passing away in 1993 and Andrew Devine losing his life last year.
A video circulated online of Manchester United fans chanting about Hillsborough
Liverpool fans had earlier offered support to the absent Cristiano Ronaldo in the seventh minute following the tragic death of his son
Pretty grim scenes in the Man United away end last night…
Probably not too long after the whole of Anfield had just stood together to show support for one of United’s greatest ever players. pic.twitter.com/HBx9Uj9xIA
— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) April 20, 2022
Both men eventually lost their lives as a result of injuries sustained at Hillsborough.
The Sun newspaper incorrectly blamed Liverpool fans for causing the incident and only issued an apology 15 years later.
After decades of campaigning, in 2016 an inquest ruled that the victims had been ‘unlawfully killed’, with jurors concluding policing decisions ’caused or contributed’ to the deaths, and amounted to ‘gross negligence’
Plenty of social media users voiced their disgust at the behaviour of the United fans on Tuesday night.
The classy act from Liverpool fans was thrown back in their face by some travelling supporters
Ronaldo is taking time with his family and was not at Anfield for the match on Tuesday
One wrote: ‘Anfield sings You’ll Never Walk Alone and has a standing ovation for Ronaldo. A section of United fans sing ‘murderers, the Sun was right’, showing that the gulf in class isn’t just on the pitch.’
Another posted: ‘Man United fans responded to the Hillsborough tweet from their team on the 15th of April and Anfield’s tribute to Ronaldo’s family with their typical murderers chant.
‘Thanks for nothing lads, you’ll never show any respect, because you can’t heal your hate and obsession for LFC.’
‘Was impressive to witness the whole of Anfield showing respect for Ronaldo and his family,’ wrote another. ‘Shame some scum still sang murderers and victim songs… Horrible scum some people…’
One more put: ‘Anfield sang You’ll Never Walk Alone and clapped for Ronaldo and his family in the 7th minute.
Liverpool supporters duly obliged the pre-game calls to offer support for Ronaldo
A post from a Liverpool fan page has said they will hold the applause in the seventh minute
‘Man United’s travelling support sang ‘murderers’ in the 20th minute. Class vs Classless.’
There were hundreds of messages echoing those sentiments and the contrasting behaviour from fans rubbed salt in the wounds for many.
Ronaldo and his partner Georgina Rodriguez announced that their baby boy had passed away soon after she gave birth to twins. Their daughter thankfully survived.
A post from a Liverpool fan Facebook page read: ‘If you are lucky enough to be attending the game tomorrow evening, then please show a mark of respect to Cristiano Ronaldo and his family by taking part in the round of applause which will be held on the seventh minute.
Liverpool hammered United 4-0 to heap misery on their old rivals in the Premier League clash
‘Rivalries should be set aside in heartbreaking circumstances such as these. You’ll Never Walk Alone, CR7 Jr.’
Anfield duly obliged early in the game but the respect was sadly not reciprocated.
On Saturday, there was a similarly disturbing occurrence at Wembley ahead of the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
A group of Manchester City supporters chanted during the minute’s silence for Hillsborough before kick-off. City later apologised, saying: ‘Manchester City are extremely disappointed with the actions of some City supporters during the minute’s silence before today’s game.
‘The club sincerely apologises to all those connected with Liverpool Football Club.’
