Unsavoury chants have long provided a troubling soundtrack to football matches in the United Kingdom but now the authorities are taking an increasingly hard line on those responsible for them.
In particular, tragedy chanting — defined by the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) as “tragedy-related abuse” — can now lead to arrests and football banning orders.
Here, The Athletic explains what tragedy chanting is, its effects and how it is being tackled.
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What is tragedy chanting?
Tragedy chanting is when fans engage in offensive songs that reference fatal accidents or stadium disasters involving players, fans or officials of rival clubs.
Examples of tragedy chanting include rival fans referencing:
- The Hillsborough disaster, when 97 Liverpool fans were unlawfully killed in a crush at Sheffield Wednesday’s stadium in 1989
- The Heysel Stadium disaster, when 39 fans – mostly Italians supporting Juventus – were killed at the 1985 European Cup final against Liverpool
- The Munich air disaster, when an aircraft carrying the Manchester United squad crashed in bad weather in 1958, killing 23 people including eight United players
- The Bradford fire, when a stand at Bradford City’s Valley Parade stadium caught ablaze in 1985, resulting in the deaths of 56 spectators
- The fatal stabbings of Leeds fans Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight before the 2000 UEFA Cup semi-final with Galatasaray in Istanbul
- The death of Cardiff City striker Emiliano Sala in a plane crash in 2019
Chants about these events have been widely condemned across football but have remained present in stadiums.
In April 2023, a petition to make chanting about tragedies at football matches a criminal offence gained over 17,000 signatures in the space of a week. That followed chants relating to the Hillsborough disaster during Liverpool’s Premier League fixtures against Chelsea and Manchester United.
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How do police define tragedy chanting?
In August 2023, the CPS released new guidance around punishments for tragedy chanting. This stated that “tragedy-related abuse” can be prosecuted as a public order offence, with fans possibly being punished with a ‘football banning order’ — meaning they could be prevented from attending matches and tournaments, travelling to certain areas and denied entrance to pubs during matches.
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Douglas Mackay of the CPS said this updated guidance shows that “vile behaviour will not be tolerated” with tragedy chanting “crossing the line into criminality”.
Chief Constable Mark Roberts, NPCC (National Police Chiefs’ Council) lead for football policing, added: “We work closely with the CPS and support these efforts to tackle the mindless and vicious chanting that unfortunately a minority of supporters engage in.”
The UK government has said on tragedy chanting: “The government is committed to tackling all harmful behaviours at football matches. Existing legislation can be used to prosecute those engaging in chanting about tragedies and death at football.
“Existing law can be used to prosecute offenders chanting or shouting about tragedies and death at football matches. The Public Order Act 1986 (POA) provides for situations where threatening or abusive language can meet the threshold for arrest and prosecution.”
The football authorities also regard the song “Always the victims, it’s never your fault” – often aimed at Liverpool supporters by rival clubs – as a tragedy chant relating to the Hillsborough disaster.
What is being done to tackle the issue?
Ahead of the 2023-24 campaign, the English FA released a charter to improve behaviour across football which included a commitment to address and punish tragedy chanting.
The charter referenced tragedy chanting’s “unacceptable presence” in stadiums with “tough new measures introduced” which would see those found to have committed offences facing “stadium bans and potential criminal prosecution”.
Ground regulations were updated to incorporate references to tragedy chanting, widening the scope for punishment.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham has described tragedy-related abuse as “completely unacceptable”, while Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has said the league is “committed to sanctioning those found guilty (of tragedy chanting) and will also focus on educating fans of all ages”.
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Last month, Manchester United and Liverpool announced that their respective foundations have launched a joint programme to tackle tragedy chanting. That followed Greater Manchester Police (GMP) making an arrest and charging a man following reports of alleged “tragedy chanting” in the FA Cup quarter-final clash between the two sides on March 17.
Is tragedy-related abuse being punished?
The FA raised concerns in November 2023 about the frequency of offensive chanting about the Hillsborough disaster. There have been several instances of supporters being punished for tragedy-related abuse since the CPS updated its prosecuting guidance:
- A Tottenham Hotspur fan was given a three-year football banning order and fined in June 2023 for making gestures mocking the Hillsborough tragedy during their 4-3 defeat at Anfield two months previously.
- In August 2023, a fan was arrested for engaging in tragedy chanting during the 1-1 draw between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.
- In January, three Manchester United supporters were arrested for chants related to the Hillsborough disaster before their Premier League match at Anfield the previous month.
- In February, two fans were arrested for tragedy chanting at the Carabao Cup final between Chelsea and Liverpool.
- In March, Arsenal handed three supporters three-year football banning orders after they pleaded guilty to tragedy chanting during the third-round FA Cup tie against Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium two months previously.
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Tragedy chanting has also been heard in matches involving other Premier League clubs.
In February 2023, the Premier League said it was treating the issue as a “matter of urgency” following chants between fans of Leeds United and Manchester United. Chants referencing the Munich air disaster and the murders of Loftus and Speight were traded between the rival fanbases.
In March, a Manchester City fan was arrested on suspicion of mocking the Munich air disaster ahead of the Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium.
Back in 2011, Crawley Town banned a fan for life after he made an aeroplane gesture throughout the club’s official video ahead of their FA Cup tie with Manchester United.
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(Top photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
