A football fan has been accused of causing harassment, alarm or distress over an alleged tragedy by singing during a Premier League match between Manchester United and Burnley.
Burnley FC said it was made aware of “offensive images” on social media of some of its supporters traveling to Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
Greater Manchester Police said they had charged Nathan Rawlinson, 44, of Bacup, Lancashire, with section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 and he had been released on bail.
The force said: “As we have recently enforced, continued incidents of tragic chanting by anyone will not be tolerated and will be dealt with firmly.”
He warned the public not to share videos of the singing on social media as Rawlinson would attend court at a later date.
On Saturday, Burnley issued a club statement about X, saying: “We are aware of offensive images currently circulating on social media from the end of today's match at Old Trafford.
“The gestures and chants relating to the tragedy are completely unacceptable and Burnley Football Club is taking a zero-tolerance approach.
“We will continue to work with Greater Manchester Police, Lancashire Police and Manchester United to help identify and prosecute those responsible.”
The Premier League said anyone found guilty would be punished, saying in X: “There is no place for the abuse of football tragedy in our game. We strongly condemn this behavior and sanctions are in place to ensure that anyone 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.”
