Fans sentenced for chants and videos mocking tragedies

One of the incidents happened before Manchester United faced Liverpool at Old Trafford

Two men who directed hateful chanting and videos at Liverpool supporters before the team faced Manchester United have been given football banning orders.

Harry Thorley, of Crewe, Cheshire, was spotted chanting about the Heysel stadium disaster by police outside the away turnstiles at Old Trafford 45 minutes before a game on 1 September.

Tommy Jobling, of Whitby, North Yorkshire, admitted distributing offensive videos and other messages about the Hillsborough disaster to a Liverpool fan via WhatsApp when the teams played in March.

Thorley, 19, and Jobling, 22, were each handed a three-year stadium ban at Manchester Magistrates' Court.

Jobling sent the offensive messages and videos referring to the 1989 crush at Hillsborough stadium which resulted in the death of 97 Liverpool fans to someone he knew from online gaming.

He pleaded guilty to malicious communications and also received a 12-month community service order.

As well as a community service order, he was ordered to do 20 rehabilitation days and 80 hours of unpaid work.

He also received a fine, costs and victim surcharge totalling £319.

Greater Manchester Police said Thorley was arrested at Old Trafford by two officers deployed to the game who saw him making a physical gesture before chanting which made reference to the Heysel disaster.

Thirty-nine people died and 600 were injured in Brussels, Belgium, in 1985 when fans were crushed against a wall which then collapsed during a European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus.

He also appeared at Manchester Magistrates' Court where he pleaded guilty to using threatening abusive, insulting words or behaviour and given a fine, costs and victim surcharge totalling £343, in addition to the banning order.

Police said it was the second football-related conviction he had received in as many months.

PC Matthew Ford said tragedy chanting has "no place in the game".

He said: "We want to make it clear to any supporters still intent on causing distress through any form of tragedy chanting, we will be taking robust action to highlight that it will not tolerated."