Burnley fan charged with tragedy chanting after Premier League side's 1-1 draw away at Manchester United

28 April 2024, 17:07

A football fan has been charged with tragedy chanting after Burnley's 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford.
A football fan has been charged with tragedy chanting after Burnley's 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford. Picture: Alamy

By Chay Quinn

A football fan has been charged with tragedy chanting after Burnley's 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford.

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Burnley FC said they were informed about "offensive footage" on social media from some of their travelling supporters at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.

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Greater Manchester Police said it has charged Nathan Rawlinson, 44, of Bacup, Lancashire, with Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 and that he has been bailed.

The force said: "As we have enforced recently, continued incidents of tragedy chanting by anyone will not be tolerated and will be dealt with robustly."

Nathan Rawlinson (not pictured) has been charged with tragedy chanting offences and bailed
Nathan Rawlinson (not pictured) has been charged with tragedy chanting offences and bailed. Picture: Alamy

It warned members of the public not to share videos of the chant on social media as Rawlinson will attend court at a later date.

On Saturday, Burnley released a club 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."

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."