Ahead of the 2026-27 season, football fans across the country are being urged to support efforts to eradicate tragedy chanting from the game.
Three years ago, The FA, along with the Premier League and EFL united with supporter groups and law enforcement organisations, including the police and the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), to crack down on the issue of football tragedy abuse. At that time, the CPS issued new guidance setting out how tragedy chanting at football matches in England and Wales could lead to prosecution under existing legislation.
While the vast majority of supporters are appalled by tragedy abuse, there are still incidents taking place at football matches, with much of this targeted at fans of particular clubs.
As a new season gets under way, The FA, Premier League, and EFL are supporting the Football Supporters’ Association, which has been developing its work in this area over the past three years.
What is football tragedy abuse?
It is offensive chanting, gestures or behaviour based on football-related tragedies, such as the Munich air disaster of 1958 involving the Manchester United squad, Heysel, the Bradford stadium fire, the Hillsborough disaster, and the murder of two Leeds United fans in Istanbul.
Why are The FA, Premier League, EFL, and FSA fighting to stop it?
This vile behaviour causes significant distress to the victims’ families, survivors and affected-club supporters.
FSA National Council member Joe Blott has been leading the organisation’s work in this area, building support among football’s key stakeholders, including governing bodies, police and clubs, as well as MPs.
Joe believes supporters must show leadership on tragedy chanting, but says a unified, cross-football approach is vital.
“As supporters, generally we police ourselves well,” he said. “Without supporters on board, we will be stuck with this toxicity. Efforts against tragedy chanting have to be supporter-led.
“Tragedy chanting can land you in serious trouble, including convictions and banning orders, but we don’t want to see football fans criminalised. That’s why education ahead of the season is so important.”
Leeds United supporter Gareth Senior said: “As Leeds supporters, we know all too well that football tragedies leave scars that never fully disappear.
"The deaths of our fans in Istanbul remain deeply painful for many people connected to our club, just as Hillsborough, Munich and Bradford continue to affect other football communities.
"Rivalry is part of what makes football special, but using loss of life as a weapon against fellow supporters has no place in our game.
"Most fans understand that, and we all have a responsibility to challenge tragedy chanting when we hear it and help create a culture of respect for those who are still living with the consequences of these events.”
How are organisations looking to tackle tragedy chanting?
The Premier League’s Matchday Observer Programme has been running for three seasons, monitoring fan behaviour within stadiums at each of the 380 Premier League fixtures. This ensures a detailed report of supporter-related incidents, including tragedy chanting, is submitted from all matches.
The FA, Premier League, EFL, and FSA launched the campaign, ‘Love Football. Protect the Game’ in the 2022-23 season to promote positive fan behaviour and highlight the consequences of and sanctions for illegal, dangerous and offensive behaviour, including tragedy chanting.
The bodies will continue to work together to develop education and communications campaigns to help tackle the issue.
The FSA is also urging young fans to avoid getting caught up in tragedy chanting at matches.
Charlotte Hennessy, whose father Jimmy died in the 1989 disaster and is one of the co-founders of the Hillsborough Law Now campaign group, said: “A message we have for the younger generation is that criminal convictions have lifelong lasting effects, particularly on your reputation, career and opportunities.
"Is it really worth being tarnished for the rest of your life? No. The suffering and torment of survivors and bereaved families is not football banter. Enjoy the game, there are many who no longer can.”
What can happen to fans caught tragedy chanting?
In the 2022-23 season, The FA along with the Premier League and EFL introduced a package of policy measures, actions and sanctions to tackle dangerous and illegal behaviour by people at football matches and to create a safe and enjoyable matchday environment for everyone. This included new measures being introduced to deal with those who participate in football tragedy abuse.
Supporters who participate in any form of tragedy abuse – including chanting, gesturing and displaying offensive messages – face tough new sanctions including eviction from grounds, stadium bans and criminal prosecution. These measures will also apply to anybody found guilty of online tragedy abuse.
Since then, a 33-year-old was banned from attending a match for four years for wearing a shirt mocking Hillsborough at the FA Cup final while another man got a three-year ban for gestures mocking the 1989 disaster at a Tottenham Hotspur match. These offenders also received further bans from the clubs they supported.
Are any other measures in place to educate and raise awareness of tragedy chanting?
The Premier League has created education resources on tragedy abuse which are available via the Premier League Primary Stars education programme. This includes a video featuring Margaret Aspinall, who lost a son during the Hillsborough tragedy.
The FSA believes in education, rehabilitation and restorative justice, which is why it continues to work with partner organisations such as Kick It Out to help supporters change their behaviour and avoid entering the criminal justice system.
“We want to make it clear to people that their words matter,” Joe said. “They can have a real impact on others and real-life consequences.
“Education, awareness and rehabilitation will do the majority of the work, but legislation remains available for the worst cases, where prosecution is the appropriate response.”
What can you do if you experience tragedy chanting?
Fans attending matches are encouraged to report any incidents of tragedy chanting via clubs’ reporting services or to matchday stewards, to ensure the matter is dealt with urgently.
