Dramas, disasters and some football: Liverpool vs Manchester United

In a time when racial slurs and vile chants are taking centre stage, one must wonder if football is any different from a long-running soap opera.

Irreverent and futile, the tradition of pre-match handshakes take up more column inches than actual match reports. It’s as though an obligatory fluff piece has to make the back pages of a daily, every other week. It was the turn of QPR’s Anton Ferdinand this time around, as the defender refused to shake hands with both Chelsea‘s John Terry and Ashley Cole, with his act gaining much publicity.

If that wasn’t enough, Manchester United travel to Anfield on Sunday, September 23, to take on Liverpool. The ever so exasperating story of ‘will he, won’t he’ surrounding Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra is set for another round; the first of the new season.

But then again, that is just the tip of the iceberg. A section of Manchester United supporters took part in anti-Liverpool chants during their 4-0 win against Wigan, only days after an independent report on the Hillsborough disaster was made public.

96 people were crushed to death and a further 766 injured when a terrace collapsed just after kick-off in the 1989 FA Cup Semi-final between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool. The blame, of course, fell on the victims. Until, earlier this month an independent panel concluded that no Liverpool fans were responsible in any way for the disaster and that the police had deflected the blame on them. Subsequent apologies were made, including one from the Prime Minister David Cameron.

Derogatory chants have always been exchanged between fans of rival teams. Eight of the 23 who lost their lives in the Munich Air Disaster of 1958 were part of the ‘Busby Babes’ – United’s talented young team returning from a European game. Sir Matt Busby, being one of the 21 survivors. Liverpool fans have often retaliated with unwanted chants about Munich. But it isn’t only chants that are disrespectfully aimed. Some Manchester City supporters were once spotted making ‘aeroplane gestures’ towards United fans. This sort of inappropriate behaviour deserves to be condemned.

Clubs have pleaded with fans to stop taunts regarding the Hillsborough and Munich tragedies. How often have we heard such requests fall sadly on deaf ears? In truth, it’s the behaviour of a minority that puts the club they claim to support in bad light. It is wrong, yes. It is sadistic, too. But it is also very hard to deal with hooligans.

The Football Gods couldn’t have timed this any better. To say next weekend’s game – one of the biggest derbies in world football – is going to be overshadowed by external factors, would be an understatement. Firstly, none of us might really care if Suarez shakes Evra’s had or not; but the cameras sure do. Secondly, any number of appeals made by Sir Alex Ferguson or Brendan Rogers will be in vain. After the minute’s silence (if one is held in memory of those who lost their lives at Hillsborough), don’t be surprised if you can hear a certain set of supporters exchanging chants that would make a normal human sick to the stomach.

Then again, that could be one of the two possible outcomes. Even if Suarez might just walk past Evra nonchalantly, one could hope that the fans would respect their counterparts, for once. And that we could have a great show on our hands, dedicated to each one of the 96 people who lost their lives. That would make it a great couple of weeks for the families of the victims, as they would get justice and a tribute.

If that were to happen, then indeed, the Gods couldn’t have done it better.