Liverpool v Ajax: Hillsborough Survivors Support Alliance calls for respect for silence

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Sir Kenny DalglishImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Liverpool legend Sir Kenny Dalglish also called for "respect" at Anfield

A Hillsborough support group has called on Liverpool fans to "show respect" to the period of silence for Queen Elizabeth II before Tuesday's Champions League match against Ajax at Anfield.

The Hillsborough Survivors Support Alliance fears any "backlash" would result in an increase in abuse over the 1989 stadium disaster.

Liverpool fans booed Abide With Me and God Save the Queen before last season's FA Cup final at Wembley, leading to condemnation by then-prime minister Boris Johnson.

The period of silence will be held after a request by Liverpool to Uefa following the Queen's death on Thursday.

In a statement on Twitter, external, the group said: "Everyone attending tonight's match, please show respect and observe the minute's silence.

"You probably think that any backlash won't affect you but it will affect us and family members with the increase in abuse over Hillsborough.

"Respect costs nothing and that goes both ways."

Reds legend Sir Kenny Dalglish responded, external: "Brilliantly put. I hope everybody at Anfield can respect these wishes tonight."

On Monday, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he was confident fans would respect the period of silence.

He said the respect shown by supporters to Cristiano Ronaldo when the club hosted Manchester United last season - following the death of the forward's baby son - demonstrated there should be no concerns about fan behaviour.

"There are plenty of examples where people showed exactly the right respect," Klopp added.

Earlier this year, Liverpool said it would call on "the full force of the law" to stop "vile chants" about the Hillsborough disaster.

The Premier League club pointed to a rise in the singing of songs about the tragedy - where 97 fans lost their lives as a result of a crush at an FA Cup semi-final.

The Hillsborough tragedy remains the UK's worst sporting disaster, with a jury at an inquest later ruling that they were unlawfully killed.

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