Offside News

Sports

Liverpool fan arrested over insult against Man United

Comment: 0 January 30th, 2012 by: admin

Merseyside police have released reports that they have detained a 59-year-old man who allegedly made racial gestures during the fourth-round FA Cup tie between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield on Saturday.

TV footage showed a man making monkey gestures while watching the game that Liverpool won 2-1. The image spread over different social networking sites resulting in various complaints received by the authorities.

Being the first meeting of the rivals since the eight-match ban of Luis Suarez for reportedly giving racial comments on United skipper Patrice Evra, people were reminded of proper decorum throughout the whole match.

There were various statements released warning people that racist behaviours will not be tolerated.

Players like Reds captain Steven Gerrard also released statements to remind people not to do such acts. Both managers Kenny Dalglish and Sir Alex Ferguson reiterated the information given to them by the FA.

It is said that supporters found guilty of breaking this law shall be subject to life bans from the club.

“Merseyside Police can confirm that a 59-year-old man from North Wales has been arrested this evening following an alleged incident at the LFC vs MUFC match this afternoon,” a police spokeswoman said.

“The man has been taken to a police station and will be questioned by officers.”

“Merseyside Police would like to thank North Wales Police and Liverpool Football Club for their assistance with this matter.”

After the match, Chief Superintendent Jon Ward said: “I would like to thank the majority of fans for their behaviour and co-operation.”

“We knew this would be a busy operation and most fans can be proud that they acted as ambassadors for their cities and their clubs.”

“Despite the large numbers of supporters from both clubs and lively atmosphere, only 17 people were ejected from the ground and, at this time, two people arrested during the policing operation, all for low-level incidents.”

They are also monitoring different photos and videos that may surface over different media sites.

“As a matter of course, Merseyside Police monitors Twitter, other social networks and match footage during high-profile events such as today’s match,” Ward continued.

“We can confirm that specialist officers are reviewing match footage, as a result of a picture posted on Twitter. This matter is now under investigation by specialist hate crime detectives and we are working with Liverpool Football Club to identify the man in question.”

More