Football
ESPN staff 8y

UEFA charges Man United, Liverpool as fan clashes lead to five arrests

UEFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against Manchester United and Liverpool following disturbances at Thursday's Europa League round-of-16 second-leg clash at Old Trafford that led to five men being arrested.

The Manchester Evening News reports that four of the people arrested were Liverpool fans and the other a United supporter, after fighting took place in the East Stand.

The arrests were made as United lost 3-1 on aggregate to rivals Liverpool after the second leg at Old Trafford ended 1-1.

Greater Manchester Police Superintendent Jim Liggett, match commander, said: "The policing operation for the Manchester United v Liverpool match has now come to an end and towards the end of the game there were a handful of concerning incidents which are currently being investigated.

"We have made a total of five arrests however the behaviour of the majority of fans in attendance was excellent and I would like to thank them for their co-operation throughout."

A Liverpool spokesman said: "We take these matters seriously and can confirm that we have received a letter from UEFA relating to infringements at last night's match which we will be reviewing.

"We will address the issues with UEFA and Manchester United and make any relevant representation as part of the process."

Also on Thursday, a banner with the word "Murderers" was tied to a sheet on a bridge over the M602 in Salford, just a couple of miles from Old Trafford and a route used by many Merseyside-based supporters heading to the game.

It also contained the date of the Hillsborough disaster, in which 96 Liverpool fans died at the FA Cup semifinal against Nottingham Forest.

During last week's first leg at Anfield, won 2-0 by the hosts, a number of offensive chants in reference to the Hillsborough tragedy were sung by a large section of the away end.

^ Back to Top ^