Luton to escape FA punishment for sick chants against Liverpool blasted by Jamie Carragher as talks held with police
THE FA will not sanction Luton over the “tragedy chanting” that marred the Hatters’ 1-1 draw with Liverpool.
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher condemned the home fans who chanted “always the victims” during the game - a reference to the Hillsborough disaster.
But while the FA and Premier League united in a pre-season drive to root out offensive chants, that did not include punishing clubs for the behaviour of their fans.
While Wembley accepts the chants are offensive and do not want them to continue, they are not deemed “discriminatory” in law - and so cannot bring FA action.
The onus is on Luton to identify and - if they see fit - ban the perpetrators, while working alongside local police to determine if a criminal act has taken place.
Such action would be welcomed by the FA but they are powerless to act by taking any disciplinary action.
READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWS
Despite that, the FA showed its concern as a spokesperson said: "We are aware of the tragedy chanting during yesterday’s Premier League fixture between Luton Town and Liverpool.
“We are seeking observations from Luton Town and further detail from the Police.
“We strongly condemn chanting of this nature and will continue to work closely with our stakeholders across the game, including the clubs, leagues, fan groups and the relevant authorities to proactively address this issue."
Last night Luton pledged to identify the fans responsible and “condemned” the chants in a public apology.
Most read in Football
The club said: “Luton Town Football Club is saddened by reports of inappropriate chanting towards Liverpool supporters during yesterday’s Premier League fixture at Kenilworth Road.
“While we do not wish to dampen the atmosphere at our home ground in any way, we are extremely disappointed that a small number of supporters soured the occasion with chants that may be interpreted as being in relation to tragedies that have affected Liverpool FC in the past.
“The Club condemns any kind of chanting that knowingly seeks to divide, and our safety and security team launched an internal investigation at the earliest opportunity.”
Luton’s statement, though, suggested that some of the fans may have been caught up in the moment without being aware of the connotations - but urged fans to supply video evidence to the club and police..
The Bedfordshire outfit added: “What has quickly become evident is that a number of people may have taken part without knowledge that the words used were in relation to the Hillsborough and Heysel tragedies.
“We see the route to persuading supporters not to repeat these chants in future is through communication and education.
“On this basis we are reviewing CCTV and media footage from the match, and will speak to witnesses to identify individuals who may have taken part.
“Any perpetrators could face stadium bans and potential criminal prosecutions.
“If anyone has information and video evidence that will support the investigation, please email [email protected] with the subject ‘Inappropriate Chanting’.
“The eyes of the world are upon us in the Premier League, which we are all learning quickly to adapt to.
“We have to remind our supporters that you are all ambassadors of the Club and it is your responsibility to behave according to the rules of the ground.
“This includes understanding the songs that cannot be sung in line with the campaign.
“On behalf of all at Luton Town, we would like to wholeheartedly apologise to anyone offended by the chants heard during the match, and will continue to work with supporter groups to educate fans on chants that are classed as tragedy abuse by football authorities, the police and CPS.”
Carragher had called out the home fans for their sick chants, which were heard live on Sky Sports.
Appearing on commentary, he said during the game: "At the start of the season I was involved in something about tragedy chanting and supporters coming together. I have just heard something a couple of times in this game.
"Supporters have got to have rivalry but we are better than that. A lot of clubs have been guilty of that over the years but football fans are better than that."
The Luton chants came just a week after Manchester City blasted a section of their own fans.
Read More on The Sun
A small section of fans were overheard singing disgraceful chants following the death of Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton.
City responded to the incident with a damning club statement, condemning the chants from their supporters.