Laughing at Hillsborough, the new ‘fashion’

In recent days, both Manchester City and Chelsea have had to reprimand their fans for chants against Hillsborough disaster which was heard in matches against Liverpool. “Always the victims, never the perpetrators” and “Murderers”, were some of the songs dedicated to the local fans in Liverpoola club marked by 97 people who died as a result of the disaster that occurred 34 years ago.

That moment, which changed English football forever, was taunting some fanswho feel impunity when directing their songs towards the victims of Hillborough. Because Liverpool fans were trapped in that semi-final of FA Cup at the Sheffield Wednesday ground they were victims, and not guilty ‘hooligans’, as that recent investigation and trial showed blaming the police for negligence.

But it didn’t matter to the small groups of fans who used soccer as a tool to vent their frustrations at the nearly one hundred people who died that afternoon.

“Always the victims” and “Murderers”, they sang at Stamford Bridge, a sonata that has become routine and also happened at the Etihad Stadium last weekend.

“Chelsea condemns these inappropriate chants. These hate speeches have no place in football and we apologize to anyone who was offended,” the ‘Blues’ said. “We are very disappointed to hear such chants. We apologize to those who may have been offended.”said City, who had to apologize when their fans broke the minute’s silence with whistles was saved by Hillsborough in the FA Cup semifinals in 2022. At the same time, during a league match at the Etihad, City opened an investigation after two fans were caught on video mocking the disaster.

“We are very concerned about the rise of these horrible chants in stadiums, in relation to the Hillsborough disaster. They are a great offense and very sad for the family, friends and communities affected by that disaster. We condemn this type of behaviour,” an FA spokesman admitted.

Now the Premier is trying to find legal recourse to end this undesirable habit and to do so, according to the British newspaper The Guardian, contacted the police and the courts to create legislation to solve the problem.

“Every game we have to offer to help a lot of people because nothing is being done to stop these chants. All the teams have to do their part to stop it,” explained the support group of the victims of Hillsborough.

“Please, this has to stop,” Liverpool said. on their social media, about a problem that goes beyond Hillsborough and extends to other incidents.

During a game between Leeds United and Manchester United at Elland Road in February, visiting supporters sang about the United plane crash in Munich in 1958 which killed 23 people, including eight team players, coaching staff and journalists. United supporters responded with references to when two Leeds fans were stabbed to death ahead of the UEFA Cup semi-final against Galatasaray in Istanbul.

The Premier League, already grappling with racism, social media insults, sexism, pitch invasions and on-pitch fireworks, has added a new case to its list of problems to solve.