Sporting sanctions and heavy fines could be levied against clubs not doing enough to eradicate tragedy chanting from stadiums as part of new proposals being worked on by football authorities and fan groups.
So-called tragedy chanting has marred high-profile fixtures with songs about the Munich air disaster, the two Leeds fans killed in Istanbul in 2000 and even the Grenfell fire all heard at matches recently. Depressingly Liverpool fan group Spirit of Shankly say there has been a “huge spike” in chants about Hillsborough after the scenes at the Champions League final in Paris a year ago.
It is not just happening at the top of the football pyramid. i understands that Bradford City contacted their League Two counterparts Rochdale after audible chants about the Bradford fire during Saturday’s match at Spotland.
Those incidents have prompted a stronger line from the authorities, with new guidelines and possible punishments for persistent offenders set to be rolled out next season.
A working group that includes the Premier League, EFL and the Football Supporters Association has contacted police and the CPS to look into how legislation can be used to pursue more arrests and convictions for tragedy chanting in a sign that football wants to adopt a zero tolerance approach on the issue.
Educating stewards and the police about tragedy chanting and public order legislation could lead to more direct action like arrests and fans being ejected from grounds – although improved messaging and communication is seen as the most effective way of eradicating the issue in the long-term.
An educational programme – which could include teaching in schools about the Hillsborough disaster, Munich air disaster and other tragedies – is being worked on.
Educating supporters about the impact of the tragedies and the effect chanting has on survivors and relatives is key, with clubs, players, managers and broadcasters all asked to amplify the message.
The working group – which also includes representatives from Leeds, Manchester United and Liverpool – is due to deliver recommendations about how best to combat the issue before the end of the season.
Their findings will be presented at the summer conferences for the EFL and Premier League and it’s hoped the new approach will be agreed by clubs in time for the start of the 2023-24 campaign.
“We’re not going to arrest or fine our way out of this issue,” Joe Blott from Liverpool supporter group the Spirit of Shankly, who represents the Football Supporters Association on the working group, tells i. He believes the overwhelming majority of fans who are appalled by tragedy chanting have to take the lead.
“These chants aren’t just banter, they have real world consequences and that is part of the message that we’re trying to get across.
“What we’re seeing is a huge fan-led initiative that has been pulled together at pace to address this issue and the Premier League and clubs are beginning to grow in confidence on the issue.”
The working group was brought together after a depressing rise in chanting about Hillsborough after the events of the Champions League final in Paris, where disorganisation, the mistakes of authorities and overcrowding evoked memories of the disaster. The actions of Liverpool fans averted disaster but Blott says many supporters used it to “resurrect chants that should be long forgotten”.
“We just said ‘enough is enough’. Something had to be done about it,” Blott says.
There is hope that education and more voluble messaging on the issue is already beginning to have an impact.
Arsenal’s “exemplary” approach in their recent visit to Anfield, which came just before the disaster’s 34th anniversary, helped to create an atmosphere of “mutual respect” that was praised by Jurgen Klopp. Mikel Arteta also wore a pin badge to commemorate the 97 fans who died in the disaster.
Blott also points to Monday night’s game at Elland Road between Liverpool and Leeds as evidence of what a unified approach can do. Liverpool fan representatives met with the families of Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight, who were murdered in Istanbul 23 years and after messaging from both clubs, there was no chanting about Hillsborough.
“Last season it was awful but this season was very different,” he says. “It sets the tone when the clubs and supporters lead from the front.
“This isn’t about sanitising the game or eradicating the passion that we love about it. It is a phrase we’ve used a lot in the FSA but we want the passion without the poison.”
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