A 44-year-old man has been charged with tragedy chanting after a person was captured on video during Manchester United’s match with Burnley on Saturday. The incident took place in the away section at Old Trafford and involved what appeared to be mockery of the Munich air disaster, which occurred in 1958 and resulted in the tragic deaths of eight Manchester United players.
Tragedy chants directed at the club have been a recurring issue, and a video of the recent incident was widely circulated on social media. According to a spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police (GMP), Nathan Rawlinson, born on 25/08/1979 and from Bacup, Lancashire, has been charged with Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 and has been bailed.
The police emphasized a zero-tolerance approach towards such behavior and called for the removal of previously circulated videos. In response to the incident, Burnley issued a statement condemning the alleged act, stating that tragedy-related gesturing and chanting is unacceptable and that the club maintains a zero-tolerance policy.
Burnley Football Club declared its intention to cooperate with police and Manchester United to identify and prosecute those responsible. The Premier League also supported Burnley’s stance and emphasized that there is no place for football tragedy abuse in the game.
Sanctions are in place to ensure that individuals found guilty face consequences. The Munich air disaster, which resulted in the loss of 23 lives, was marked by Manchester United on its 66th anniversary in February.
The tragic event occurred when a plane carrying the team back from a European Cup clash crashed on take-off after stopping to refuel in Bavaria. Despite the loss of eight players, manager Matt Busby recovered from his injuries and led the club to become European champions a decade later.
