Manchester City

[ChesterDave]

If the rules allow for you to laugh at a supporter suffering life changing injuries then the rules are wrong. Or perhaps football is so far into the gutter than laughing at such a matter can't bring the game into disrepute

[fidget]

It's not against any rules or laws but it's certainly against common ****ing decency.

[Liverpool]

I'm amazed they haven't held their hands up saying 'we didn't realise' the Sean Cox link, its out of order, he's some money for his recovery and the LFC foundation.

I don't think this will go away

[Buzzo]

I'm amazed they haven't held their hands up saying 'we didn't realise' the Sean Cox link, its out of order, he's some money for his recovery and the LFC foundation.

I don't think this will go away

I’d imagine that’s actually the truth. It’s an oblique reference perhaps if you are not as aware of everything going on within the LFC community, so to just say ‘we did not realise’ would be something.

And then yeah, turn something negative into something positive.

As opposed to this, which is basically that they don’t hive a ****.

[Exiled_red]

I'm amazed they haven't held their hands up saying 'we didn't realise' the Sean Cox link, its out of order, he's some money for his recovery and the LFC foundation.

I don't think this will go away

That's the thing that surprises me, I would have thought that would have been the easiest defence, whether true or not that they didn't realise, as I said earlier I doubt a lot of City fans know specifically what it refers to, and the players and staff are less likely still.

I also find it odd that they think that people are claiming the players changed the words, it is clearly a song that the fans made and they copied. The only thing I think that they might have changed was Ramos to Kompany (based on this season's game), although I am not sure if City fans have been singing this version since? While the battered in the streets line is distasteful you could use the excuse above. But the players singing about one of their own injuring a fellow professional, I don't really see how they can defend that, I also would have thought given the accusations about cynical fouls they might have been more careful. I wonder if this is why they have responded to the Sean Cox and Hillsborough accusations.

[calvoboy]

That's the thing that surprises me, I would have thought that would have been the easiest defence, whether true or not that they didn't realise, as I said earlier I doubt a lot of City fans know specifically what it refers to, and the players and staff are less likely still.

I also find it odd that they think that people are claiming the players changed the words, it is clearly a song that the fans made and they copied. The only thing I think that they might have changed was Ramos to Kompany (based on this season's game), although I am not sure if City fans have been singing this version since? While the battered in the streets line is distasteful you could use the excuse above. But the players singing about one of their own injuring a fellow professional, I don't really see how they can defend that, I also would have thought given the accusations about cynical fouls they might have been more careful. I wonder if this is why they have responded to the Sean Cox and Hillsborough accusations.

Their response is akin to "no sir, I was just scratching my cheek with my middle finger, I wasn't being rude", or those BNP/EDL ****s who swear blind they're just waving and not giving the Nazi salute.

They all know exactly what they are doing when they sing about victims and being battered in the street, the shameless cunts.

[Tatterdemalion]

Why would they be ****ting themselves??

Taking UEFA or FIFA to court (other than through Court of Sporting Arbitration) means that you are not allowed to compete in their tournaments until the case is decided

UEFA wont give two ****s whether City go down the legal route

That is interesting..

[Charly]

If City lose an arbitration appeal, csn Uefa increase the punishment?

[Buzzo]

An article criticising City's ambivalence about the song. Written by a City supporter (so they do have genuine and empathetic fans, who knew?) maybe they should employ him.

Manchester City’s defence of ‘battered’ song is seriously misguided
Club’s reaction to footage showing staff taking delight in lyrics that cause distress among Liverpool fans is a reminder we all can – and should – do better

David Conn

It did not take long for the most dazzling of Premier League title races to be plunged into a row between Liverpool and Manchester City supporters, over a City supporters’ song being taken up on a plane carrying players and staff on their gleeful flight back from Brighton with the trophy.

It was then startling to learn the club had issued a statement wholly defending the song, which glories in Liverpool misfortune, including their supporters being “battered in the streets” and being “victims of it all”.

“Any suggestion the lyrics relate to Sean Cox [the Liverpool supporter who was battered before last season’s Champions League semi-final with Roma at Anfield, suffering life-changing injuries] or the Hillsborough tragedy is entirely without foundation,” City’s statement said. As if that is enough to give the song official sanction, and can anyway be said so absolutely, when such needless offence has been caused.

In the Liverpool Echo, the football correspondent James Pearce denounced as “classless” and “disgusting” City staff singing that mocking version of the signature Anfield Allez, Allez‚ Allez song and said: “As for the reference to ‘victims’, the connotations of that word need no explanation.” Outside of Liverpool, perhaps, a little explanation of the loaded and wounding nature of that word is needed. Liverpool supporters feel it to be a clear, insulting reference to the Hillsborough disaster, having its roots in the nasty ditty: “Always the victim, never your fault.”

Vague as it is, that has been taken to be a reference to Hillsborough, where 96 Liverpool supporters lost their lives in a crush, and Heysel four years earlier, where 39 Juventus supporters were killed following disorder from some Liverpool supporters. Fourteen Liverpool fans were convicted of involuntary manslaughter following the terrible scenes at Heysel, so there is a puzzle over the “never your fault” part of the insult.

The word “victims”, sung as a sneer at a match, does not just voice a cold lack of empathy for the victims of Hillsborough and their families. It is also aimed at doubting their genuineness as victims, which has been deeply hurtful given the 30-year justice process, with legal proceedings still continuing.

By issuing their statement totally defending the right of City staff to sing this song, the club is saying the phrase “victims of all that” relates only to this song, about Kyiv last season, celebrating Liverpool losing in the Champions League final, Sergio Ramos injuring Mohamed Salah and fans being “battered in the streets”.

Pearce’s point, and that of many Liverpool supporters, has been that they have put up with City fans singing this all season but to see staff take up the song and the club defend it has elevated all this to near-official approval.

After a marvellous football contest and a sporting finale, with due compliments paid by both clubs’ managers, it hardly shows football’s best face.

Songs that cross a line of hate speech or racism are now rightly condemned and outlawed but this episode could be valuable if it allows an opportunity to make a plea for general sporting values and respect. I grew up in Manchester as a City fan, captivated by the spectacle and atmosphere, but I was also told as a small boy about the terrible Munich air crash and can always remember being shocked the first time I heard the song mocking the deaths of the United players and the suffering of Matt Busby.

The singing of that song has been explicitly addressed and condemned by City and other clubs in recent years, in a concerted way on the 50th anniversary in 2008, for which the fixture schedule sent City to play a derby at Old Trafford. In advance of the game, great old United players who survived the crash, and the former secretary Ken Ramsden who was already working at the club in 1958, remembered the awful loss of life, and the legacy.

The Munich song came up as a problem and Ramsden lamented he never heard it until the late 1960s or 70s, remembering how supportive City and their supporters had been of United at that traumatic time. He then nostalgically recalled that era of football before rivalries grew so venomous, when segregation was not needed or considered, when, he said, it was a lot friendlier and “supporters of opposing clubs used to walk to matches together”.

Football has always reflected a country’s culture and times, and England in the Brexit crisis can be viewed through some of the nastiness in football and on social media. We are sadly a long way from all watching matches together again but we could surely be better than this.

[Buzzo]

Sean Cox's brother making some valid points.

Sean Cox’s brother criticises Manchester City over celebratory flight song

• Chant offensive to all football violence victims, says Martin Cox
• He accepts song on plane from Brighton is not about his brother

Andy Hunter

The brother of Sean Cox has described a chant sung on the plane carrying Manchester City players and staff back from Brighton on Sunday as offensive to all victims of football-related violence. Martin Cox, who was with his brother the night he suffered serious head injuries outside Anfield last year, also criticised City over their reaction to the tasteless song.

Footage emerged on Tuesday of a version of Liverpool’s Allez, Allez, Allez song being sung as City’s players and staff travelled back from clinching the Premier League title on the south coast. The City version refers to Liverpool going “all the way to Kyiv” only to suffer defeat in last season’s Champions League final. It adds: “Crying in the stands, and battered on the streets. Kompany injured Salah, victims of it all, Sterling won the double, the scousers won **** all.”

The Premier League champions described claims that the chant mocks Sean Cox or the Hillsborough disaster as “entirely without foundation”. Martin Cox accepts the song is not about his brother, who was attacked by Roma supporters before last season’s Champions League semi-final first leg, and refers to Liverpool fans who were targeted by local hooligans in Kyiv. But he admits the song “hit a raw nerve” and insults everyone affected by football-related violence, including the Manchester City fan Paul Worth, who was left in a coma after being attacked in Germany in February.

Martin Cox told the Guardian: “I know the song isn’t about Sean. I’ve listened to the lyrics of the song and it is not aimed at Sean but at what happened in Kyiv where other people were victims of football violence. The song mentions people being ‘battered in the streets’. Sean and I were walking down a street that night when he was attacked and something like this brings back painful memories. And not only for us.

“Sean is a high-profile case but what about the people who were attacked in Kyiv and their families, or any other victim of football-related violence? It was not long ago that a Manchester City fan was attacked and seriously injured at a Champions League game. Why would you sing a song like that?”



A City spokesperson said: “The song in question, which has been a regular chant during the 2018-19 season, refers to the 2018 Uefa Champions League final in Kyiv. Any suggestion that the lyrics relate to Sean Cox or the Hillsborough tragedy is entirely without foundation.”

Martin Cox believes City’s failure to condemn the chant has made the matter worse. He added: “This is about people being attacked going to a football game. That hit a raw nerve with me and the City statement makes things worse. The City statement is on the defensive rather than apologising. They need to have a look at themselves.

“I would have thought City would have been gracious after just winning the league on Sunday. Jürgen Klopp must have felt on the floor after the Wolves game but he congratulated Manchester City on their achievement. City should be singing about their club and the euphoria of winning the league. It is hard to understand why you would bring up a song about Liverpool and people being hurt when you should be singing about Manchester City. Obviously there is banter between football fans but people being battered on the streets is not banter. This is tarnishing their achievement.”

Sean Cox, a father of three, suffered permanent injury last April and continues to receive treatment at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dun Laoghaire. His brother added: “Everything is still so raw for us as a family. What happened to Sean turned our lives upside-down and something like this hurts. At the moment we are looking for the best places for Sean for the next phase of his rehabilitation. We are trying to find the best care we can for him. Manchester is one of the options.”

[Buzzo]

Has the mood softened amongst City fans... Enlightenment... any dawning realisation...

Not a bit of it.

Nothing supports the accusation of Liverpool always playing the victim more than their complete over reaction to this video. The whole reaction in the media has been pathetic- clearly trying to fit in with the Dippers misinterpretation and mock horror of the lyrics.

Let’s be clear most of our players wouldn’t understand what they were singing - I suspect the staff started the song and a few players that knew it joined in. The song was written by fans and the Scouse interpretation of the lyrics has truly showed them for what they are.

We were stupid to let this get in the public domain. In a week when the football powers are doing their best to undermine us and having an Fa cup final we could do without this ****. We all know it’s pathetic but it’s bad PR

More faux outrage from Liverpool and Creepy Conn.

**** 'em.

Fact no one has said a thing about this song before now shows its not the song, its that its the players (allegedly) singing it.

And why shouldn’t they. Its not abusive, its not xenophobic or racist or sexist.

People get offended at anything these days, especially if youre a red dipper. In fact, the size of the blow out over this gives support to the very words within the song.

I hope its sung non stop for 90 glorious winning minutes on saturday. And hopefully the rest of the league join in come August

I just know we are going to have 90 minutes of this song at Wembley, I hope it stays 0-0 long enough for the rats to tune in and hear it as it's only right that we give them more opportunity to be offended!

This does raise an interesting question , why didn’t we apologise and draw a line under it?

The club obviously hold a similar view as us, if you don’t like it we don’t give a **** , this is payback for the season load of ****e we have had to listen to whilst we slowly and cruelty crushed their dreams

Suck it up

David Conn has an agenda against our owner's. Its so predictable its boring. The whole agenda is anti muslim and Liverpool is the home of slavery too.

Sean cox’s brother is now suggesting despite it not being about his brother, it reminds him of his brothers attack and he’s disgusted people would sing it.

Liverpool sing you’ll never walk alone every game, whilst it’s not about me, it takes me back to the time I had to walk home alone as a scared child, it’s disgusting people would continuously sing it.

[jonnygrunter]

**** me some of the comments there. Really boils my blood the stupid ****ing cunts.

[Mr Darko]

Lovely consistency from the scumbags at the FA regarding treatment of Money City versus other teams...

No punishment for these vermin players/staff for singing anti-LFC chants specifically about a Liverpool fan being beaten into a coma and our players being injured BUT Jack Wilshere gets fined £40k when he said an anti-spurs chant.

No punishment for Pep when he runs on pitch and celebrates City's 96th minute winner against Southampton. But Klopp gets fined for celebrating Origi's last minute goal against Everton.

[danperkins]

They have so much power they do what they want

[Kenneth]

I think we're being a little precious about this tbh.