Man arrested for alleged tragedy chanting during Man United match
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MANCHESTER, England (AP) — A man was arrested and charged for alleged tragedy chanting during Manchester United's home game against Burnley in the Premier League, police said Sunday.
The 44-year-old from Lancashire in northern England has been charged under Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986, which relates to causing harassment, alarm or distress.
"As we have enforced recently, continued incidents of tragedy chanting by anyone will not be tolerated and will be dealt with robustly," Greater Manchester Police said in a statement.
The game ended 1-1 on Saturday.
Burnley said in a statement on Saturday that it was aware of "offensive footage" circulating on social media from a section of United's Old Trafford stadium occupied by away fans.
"Tragedy-related gesturing and chanting is completely unacceptable, and Burnley Football Club take a zero-tolerance approach,” the club said.
Police asked for previously circulated videos of the alleged incident to be removed from social media.
Soccer authorities and the police are trying to clamp down on tragedy-related chanting.
New measures this season mean people found to have committed offenses face stadium bans and potential criminal prosecution.