Liverpool have condemned the "vile chants relating to football stadium tragedies" chanted by some Manchester City fans during Sunday evening's Premier League fixture between the two clubs.
Mohamed Salah scored the winner in a controversy-filled encounter at Anfield, during which City saw an opening goal ruled out and Jurgen Klopp was sent off. City manager Pep Guardiola was also pelted with coins by some of the home fans as he vented his fury with Phil Foden's strike being chalked off.
In response to the chants heard by a section of the away end during the hard-fought match, Liverpool have vowed to work with "the relevant authorities" to ensure they are "eradicated from football altogether". The Reds also stated that areas of the concourse were vandalised "with graffiti of a similar nature".
"We are deeply disappointed to hear vile chants relating to football stadium tragedies from the away section during today's game at Anfield," reads a statement on Liverpool's official website. "The concourse in the away section was also vandalised with graffiti of a similar nature.
"We know the impact such behaviour has on the families, survivors and all those associated with such disasters. We are working with the relevant authorities and we will also work with Manchester City in order to do our utmost to ensure these chants are eradicated from football altogether."
Meanwhile, speaking after the match, Guardiola confirmed that some home fans launched coins in his direction but "they didn't hit me". In a second statement, Liverpool vowed to issue lifetime bans to those responsible once they have been identified using CCTV.
"We are aware of an incident involving objects being thrown into the technical area at today's game," reads the statement. "This is totally unacceptable behaviour and not the standards of behaviour we expect at Anfield. This incident will be fully investigated using CCTV and those found guilty will be punished, including a lifetime ban from Anfield Stadium and a possible football banning order."
In his own post-match press conference, Klopp admitted he was in the wrong after he was sent off by referee Anthony Taylor. The German was enraged by the fact Bernardo Silva went unpenalised for a challenge on Mohamed Salah and tore into the linesman on the nearside touchline.
Klopp said: "Yeah, it's about emotion of course. So, of course, red card, my fault. I went over the top in the moment, I don't think I was disrespectful to anybody. But when you look at the pictures back, I know myself for 55 years that the way I look in these moments is already worth a red card. I know that, who cares what I say. I lost it in that moment and that is not okay."
