How Man Utd handles those who mock Hillsborough

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Daryl Woodrow (a Liverpool fan) received disgusting abuse from some Manchester United fans on Twitter.

Daryl decided to write a letter to Man Utd.

From: Daryl W.
Date: 16 September 2011 11:10:31 PM GMT+01:00
To: “enquiries@manutd.co.uk” <enquiries@manutd.co.uk>
Subject: Urgent matter
Hi,I’m writing this email to bring to your attention the sickening behaviour of Man Utd ‘fans’ on twitter.
Below is some screenshots of fans taunting Liverpool fans regarding the Hillsborough disaster.
I’m sure you would agree that banter has it’s limits, and respect is something of a rare commodity
between fans from either clubs. As a proud Liverpool fan, I would also distance myself from those
who would bring up the Munich air disaster in a disrespectful way.I feel that it is your duty as a club,
role models to the millions of fans that you address this problem
and also try and encourage a bit more respect amongst your fans.
I appreciate that this is only a small minority of your large fan base,
but things on twitter can easily escalate.

I apologise about the large size of the pictures, writing emails on iPads are not as easy as I thought.
I hope you can appreciate the seriousness of what I’m trying to put across here and act accordingly.
I appreciate you cannot take passion from fans, but you can highlight what is and isn’t acceptable.Thank you.Regards,
Daryl Woodrow
Actually Daryl was surprised that Manchester United replied to his email.
From: <charter@manutd.co.uk>
Date: 19 September 2011 04:26:26 PM GMT+01:00
To:
Subject: Complaints  Ref:22604

19th September 2011

Dear Mr Woodrow

Charter Complaint Reference: 22604

Your email to enquiries@manutd.co.uk was passed to the Customer Care Team today for formal

documentation in the Club’s Charter Complaints system.

It is always disappointing to receive correspondence of this nature and we share your abhorrence of these so called ‘fans’.

The Hillsborough and Munich Air Disasters form such a huge part of both our clubs’ history and show how important

football is to people, particularly in the North West of the country. 

Why people choose to behave like this is beyond the comprehension of decent people.

Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Michael Owen are big fans of Twitter and they often use this media to

interact with fans and football supporters of from all over the world. 

It is a sad reflection on our society that there are people claiming to be supporters of football who think

this kind of disgusting behaviour is acceptable.

Regrettably we are not able to intervene with any inappropriate tweets, however we would strongly advise

you to report this matter via the Twitter help centre.  You can copy and paste this link into your browser:

http://support.twitter.com/groups/33-report-a-violation/topics/122-reporting-violations/articles/
15789-how-to-report-violations

We can assure you that we as a Club take this matter very seriously and whilst we accept

there will always be an element of healthy banter between our two clubs, we will do our best to promote a good relationship

with all football fans and aim to eradicate this kind of behaviour.

Yours sincerely

Shelly Peacock
Customer Care Team
Manchester United Limited

While I applaud Manchester United for replying to Daryl it does make me wonder why both clubs (Liverpool & Manchester United) don’t form a joint task force and rout out these perpetrators. As you all know this doesn’t just happen on Twitter (and other social medium) but also in the stadia.

Why are there no life bans on fans who mock Hillborough, Heysell & Munich?
I am sure that both clubs would have other decent fans who would fill their seats.

I have blanked out the name of the 2nd one to protect Daryl. 

11 Comments

  1. spot on, why oh why does no-one the clubs,fa uefa, fifa etc do anything, it should be treated the same way as racism maybe more, this hatred, regional racism is left unpunished with no one seeming to care

  2. Whilst working for LFCSC (the supporters club not the team) as a bar maid i was unlucky enough to be the one who was required to answer the phones and on match days where Liverpool played against MU if MU won then fans would ring up the club screaming down the phone similar rhetoric, often including death threats or bomb threats to the club. This was always just sickening and was ignored. Better to ignore the childish crap i think

  3. The main issue is, where would the task force draw the line? Would it be only for these three events that a lifetime ban would be enforced, or other disasters. How graphic would the reference have to be? Would mentioning an aeroplane or a wall be enough?

    The reality is is that there are far too many variables. There would be too many inconsistencies and too many mistakes. This isn’t for the clubs to deal with but rather us, the fans. As a collective we demand to be treated with respect so as a collective we should be electing to treat others with respect. We should be challenging those around us who make these comments, not expecting others to do it for us.

  4. The main issue is, where would the task force draw the line? Would it be only for these three events that a lifetime ban would be enforced, or other disasters. How graphic would the reference have to be? Would mentioning an aeroplane or a wall be enough? The reality is is that there are far too many variables. There would be too many inconsistencies and too many mistakes. This isn’t for the clubs to deal with but rather us, the fans. As a collective we demand to be treated with respect so as a collective we should be electing to treat others with respect. We should be challenging those around us who make these comments, not expecting others to do it for us.

  5. If these were racist comments you could bet Manchester Utd would do something about it. Unfortunately standing up to the defamation of white working class fans gets them no kudos from Eufa

  6. Well being truthfull how often did we hear the munich songs,now we are on par with them, differance is ours was fans, familys, and id say ours was worse coz it happened in front of us, and instead of helping them people took pictures then the lies started and then the cover up. as for the people who post comments then it just proves inbreeding still goes on even in england,

  7. Very sick fans in liverpool and manchester ,that is a reflection of society in general,that is not to say we should let these scumbags,(because that is what these so called fans really are,)get away with this sicko behaviour,root them all out and ban them from liverpool fc and man united for life
    if they have season tickets or go to the odd game.

    1. Actually you’d probably find these perpetrators would be from outside of either city. I don’t see any people from Liverpool mocking Hillsborough even the Everton side has lost someone or known someone who sadly lost their lives on that day. Likewise with people from Manc, these people who mock the dead are just idiots who should be banned. I also urge fans who are at the grounds and hear people shouting these disgracefull chants to report them to the nearest stewards……YNWA

  8. I , an exiled scouser , living in mancville have suffered the hate up front , having to use my fists a few times when cornered by these morons , challenge them and the 1st tihng out their mouth ????? …… “well you lot started it by slagging munich” !1!!!!!THATS WHAT WE ARE UP AGAINST !!!! I have given up , and ensure I keep a distance from them , dont talk in unkwown company (scouse accent !) to be honest , if i wasnt white , i could take a number of these idiots to court for racial hate crimes ,…. yes my friends , it is that bad, deep rooted , and commonplace

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