An American was among eight supporters detained following reports of tragedy chanting at Sunday’s Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield.

Merseyside Police said the 28-year-old man from Hendersonville, Tennessee was arrested under section five of the Public Order Act, along with a 46-year-old man from Nottinghamshire.

Five other men, aged 21 to 59, and a 52-year-old woman from Manchester have been asked to voluntarily attend interviews under caution on suspicion of the same offence, tragedy chanting.

Merseyside Police chief inspector Lisa Ledder said: “Football fans who chant about tragedies cause huge distress to those families and people directly affected.

“The tragic loss of life is not a subject for tribal point scoring, and this behaviour has absolutely no place in football. Regardless of team affiliation, we will continue to work with clubs to take action to identify and bring any perpetrators to justice.

“I hope the arrests of these individuals sends a clear message and acts as a deterrent to others that you risk getting a criminal record and ending up in custody if you choose to engage in this despicable behaviour.”

When the club previously met at Anfield in December 2023, three United supporters were arrested outside Anfield for chants related to the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 which caused the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans.

(Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images)