Man charged over alleged tragedy chanting at Manchester United game
28 April 2024, 13:42 | Updated: 28 April 2024, 16:32
A man has been charged with causing harassment, alarm or distress over alleged tragedy chanting during a match between Manchester United and Burnley.
Nathan Rawlinson, 44, of Bacup, Lancashire, has been charged with a Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 offence and bailed, Greater Manchester Police said.
It comes as the police force warned members of the public not to share videos of the incident on social media and said "continued incidents of tragedy chanting by anyone will not be tolerated and will be dealt with robustly".
The Premier League match ended in a draw on Saturday at Manchester United's Old Trafford ground.
After the game, Burnley released a statement on X, saying: "We are aware of offensive footage currently circulating on social media from the away end of today's fixture at Old Trafford.
"Tragedy-related gesturing and chanting is completely unacceptable, and Burnley Football Club take a zero-tolerance approach.
"We will continue to work with Greater Manchester Police, Lancashire Police and Manchester United to help identify and prosecute the individuals responsible."
After Saturday's incident, the Premier League vowed anyone found guilty would be punished, saying on X: "There is no place for football tragedy abuse in our game. We strongly condemn this behaviour and sanctions are in place to ensure anybody found guilty faces consequences.
"We continue to treat this as an unacceptable issue and fully support Burnley FC, Manchester United and the police in identifying and prosecuting those responsible."
(c) Sky News 2024: Man charged over alleged tragedy chanting at Manchester United game
