“Tragedy chanting” in the Premier League: When disasters become verses

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Luton Town fans at the game against Liverpool FC: In addition to the sport, the Hillsborough disaster is sung

Photo: Andrew Powell / Liverpool FC / Getty Images

The English broadcaster Sky Sports actually pays Jamie Carragher to comment on the action on the pitch during Premier League games.

But when his former club Liverpool FC played Luton Town, Carragher was forced to comment on the behavior of the spectators.

Rivalries were part of football, said Carragher, but the chants from some Luton supporters went too far: "Fans don't need that."

The chants at the November game, which Carragher condemned live on air, were references to the Hillsborough stadium disaster in April 1989, in which almost 100 Liverpool fans died.

Liverpool FC, Luton Town and the Premier League were also outraged by the spectators' behavior.

Just like every time after incidents of this kind. Chants about Hillsborough or other football-related tragedies are no exception in English stadiums, but are a tradition.

English fan chants are considered particularly creative, but they are often particularly evil.

England asks itself: What to do about “tragedy chanting”?

Drastic blame on Liverpool fans

Liverpool FC is particularly often the target of such attacks.

Opposing fans insult the supporters of coach Jürgen Klopp's club as "murderers", alluding to the narrative that the British state and the tabloid press spread after the Hillsborough disaster.

Accordingly, Liverpool fans were to blame for the tragedy - a version that has now been refuted.

Liverpool fans also hear again and again that they are “always the victims”.

This chant suggests that Liverpool fans might be to blame for Hillsborough after all.

In addition, with this chant, fans accuse the club of being obsessed with Hillsborough while keeping quiet about the Heysel stadium disaster in May 1985.

At that time, 39 Juventus fans were killed at the final of the European Champions Cup after attacks by Liverpool hooligans.

Other clubs are also affected by English disaster folklore.

In the past, at Manchester United games, there have been repeated chants about the “Munich Air Disaster,” which cost the lives of half the United team in February 1958.

In the past, opposing fans have sung "Istanbul" at Leeds United games - where two Leeds fans were stabbed during the UEFA Cup semi-final against Galatasaray in April 2000.

The list of examples could be extended indefinitely.

A long-neglected problem

Such chants were long tolerated in England because hooliganism, racism and homophobia were identified as major problems.

But now that the problem of violence in English football has been largely solved and most forms of discrimination are now outlawed, “tragedy chanting” continues to spoil the mood.

Clubs and the Premier League strive to point out after every incident that it is “a minority” who behave in this way.

But the minority is still large enough to be heard – and to cause harm.

Songs about disasters mean that those affected have to relive past traumas and are constantly reminded of what they have been through.

“These chants hurt just as much as losing a child” is how Margaret Aspinall put it in a video that the Premier League released in November.

Her 18-year-old son James died in the Hillsborough disaster.

Ian Byrne survived the tragedy and is now fighting against the folklore of death in England's stadium as the Labor MP for the Liverpool - West Derby constituency.

The problem, in his opinion, is not necessarily malice, but a lack of knowledge and a culture that tolerates boundary crossings, often in the name of football rivalries and the famous English "banter", a graphic form of humor.

In an interview with SPIEGEL, Byrne reported how he confronted a young Nottingham Forest fan who had insulted Liverpool as "always the victims": "I asked him why he did that.

He thought the song was referring to Jürgen Klopp, who always complains about the referees," says Byrne.

Education instead of prohibition

His remedy against verbal fan violence: education.

He has launched a campaign to educate people of all ages about the Hillsborough disaster.

Byrne is also pushing for Hillsborough and other football-related tragedies to be covered in English schools.

This is already happening in Liverpool.

»If the Premier League simply banned certain chants, they would probably be sung all the more.

We get better results when we educate people,” says Ian Byrne.

The incidents during Liverpool's game against Luton Town in November also indicate this.

It is complicated for the British authorities to take action against “tragedy chanting” because, unlike racism, it is not legally classified as discriminatory.

Nevertheless, stricter rules have been in force since this season.

Anyone who is convicted of disaster folklore can be issued not only stadium bans but also travel and residence bans.

However, many Luton fans were not put off by this.