Manchester United and Liverpool have both found themselves being levied heavy fines in part due to their lack of crowd control during their Europa League tie this past season.
While Liverpool advanced over Manchester United 3-1 on aggregate, both legs were marked with ugly scenes caused by supporters. The total amount of fines ran to £44,342 for Manchester United and £43,577 for Liverpool.
United charged for illicit chants
Neither teams supporters covered themselves in glory with songs about the Munich air disaster and the Hillsborough tragedy ringing through both stands during each game. These chants were ignored by UEFA however, as they concentrated purely on chants with vulgar language. Police, in addition, had to remove a disgusting banner over the M602 motorway in Salford designed to taunt Liverpool fans over the Hillsborough tragedy that saw 96 Liverpool fans die at an FA Cup semi-final tie with Nottingham Forest in 1989.
United were fined specifically for "illicit chants, stair ways blocked, throwing of objects," and "crowd disturbances." The fine for the illicit chants was levied at €40,000 (approximately £30,000) with half suspended for two years, while the total of the other infractions was levied at €18,000 (approximately £14,000).
Liverpool to contact United for settlement of damages
UEFA specifically charged Liverpool for the song "Manchester is full of s***," laying down the exact same €40,000 fine with half suspended on the club. They were also charged with "setting off fireworks, stair ways blocked, throwing of objects, crowd disturbances," and "late kickoff." These added incidents will see Liverpool pay a further €17,000 (approximately £13,000). UEFA were made aware of songs about the Munich air disaster, which saw eight United players among 23 people die after their plane caught fire and crashed in Munich in 1958.
In addition, UEFA has directed Liverpool to contact Manchester United within 30 days in regards to settlement for damage caused by Liverpool fans at Old Trafford which led to the arrests of five people in connection to fights in the stands.