Ferguson: Cut out cruel chants

Alex Ferguson has called for Manchester United and Liverpool supporters to end the sick chanting that has scarred recent encounters between the teams.

United head to Anfield in nine days’ time for what will be Liverpool’s first home Premier League match since the dramatic findings relating to the Hillsborough disaster were released.

The Hillsborough Independent Panel’s report cleared Liverpool supporters of any blame.

The 1989 tragedy resulted in the deaths of 96 supporters and has been used to abuse Liverpool fans by their Old Trafford counterparts, who prior to that awful day had been goaded over the Munich air disaster in 1958, when eight United players were among 21 people killed as a plane crashed on take-off at Munich.

While the intense rivalry that exists between England’s two most successful clubs ensures they will never get along particularly well, Ferguson feels there is a boundary that should not be crossed.

“You would hope that maybe this is a line in the sand in terms of how the supporters behave with one another,” he said.

“We are two great clubs and we should understand each other’s problems in the past. Certainly the reputation of both clubs doesn’t deserve it.

“The fact we are playing them after the findings we have been reading about in the last couple of days does bring a focus to it.

“Both clubs have suffered fatalities through football.

“You hope that fans do behave themselves and support their team and that will be the end of it.”