Ferguson vows backing for Liverpool
Sir Alex Ferguson has offered Liverpool his full support
Sir Alex Ferguson has promised Liverpool total support ahead of what he accepts will be an emotional Premier League encounter with Manchester United on Sunday.
The game will be the first to be played at Anfield since the damning report on the Hillsborough tragedy was released last Wednesday, placing the blame for the disaster, in which 96 people died, on South Yorkshire Police and other services.
"It is going to be a very emotional day on Sunday and we will support them in every way we can," said Ferguson.
Yet the chants of a few United fans during Saturday's win over Wigan at Old Trafford highlighted the potential for trouble.
Ferguson added: "As a club we are totally supportive of Liverpool in the situation they are in. We understand what those families must have felt when they got that report.
"I didn't hear it (on Saturday), but others did, particularly in the directors' box. (Chief executive) David Gill was disappointed."
Some fans have argued the chant heard on Saturday - "Always the victim, never your fault" - was only sung in the immediate aftermath of Luis Suarez's racism spat with Patrice Evra.
"It is a new chant that only started after the Suarez situation," said Ferguson. "I was disappointed to hear it. It is a minority. But in society there is a minority wanting to be heard."
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Thank you Mr. Ferguson, from a proud scouser.
Lets hope the Evra/Suarez situation is put to rest on Sunday along side all the hatred chants off both sets of supporters.
No football match is bigger than a human life and let all those who shout shout and display
these hatred remarks just think it could have been one of their loved ones.
Lets hope Sunday is a day both Liverpool and Manchester can be PROUD of.
Thank You Mr Ferguson,
being a huge liverpool fan and so relieved that finally those unfortunate fans who were sadly lost have had the TRUTH! i know it won't bring any of them back and they will be forever missed on the terraces
:( as will those lost in munich hope you all RIP.
lets enjoy a fantastic match on saturday seeing two of the most successful teams in english history face off :)
hope evra and suarez can move on too, we are united in remembering the lost lets be united in forcing racism out of the beautiful game :)
good luck on saturday to both teams!!
YOU'll NEVER WALK ALONE!!
im a man utd fan and hate Liverpool FC but I don't hate the people, the fans or the city. I was so shocked all those years ago when I heard what was happening on the Radio and felt so much sorrow for the families, and now even more so that the truth was suppressed for so long. I can't imagine how they flat but my compassion goes out to them. I'm in a wheelchair so don't get to away grounds but if I was there I would support the families in whatever is shown for them on sunday.
Hope for a good match and a Utd win.
RIP the fallen fans.
Well said as ever Anthony and Clivo: I can't fathom the other 2 comments on here. Mr Williams really is the idiot that Lewis Day says he is. Sir Alex has come out and condemned his own fans and given support to LFC. Can't see what more he could do.
I really hope Utd fans pay the utmost respect on Saturday and not one mention of victims or Hillsborough is heard. And if anyone does step out of line, throw them out and ban them from watching future games.
Support Utd by singing any number of songs .... just don't cross the line.
Masie, woman or not, you have the right to speak. I'm with you on this matter, along with the majority of other posters. It's got to stop, all this hateful chanting. Not just these two great clubs, but every single one of them. It's gone way too far.
I'm a Spurs fan, and for once I agree with the manager of Utd. So come on guys, let's just concentrate on the game, and not the suffering when terrible incidents like Hillsborough/Munich and the many other ones occur.
This is after all, the best and most watched sport in the world.
Nick Murphy
can you explain to us why you think its bull, I think the majority of us can recognise a heart felt plea for calm & respect, rednose or whatever name you choose to call him has come out TWICE in less than a week to show is support for the families who lost people who can never be replaced, so what is your beef?
its all well and good casting expersions and opinion and name calling when it comes to football, but I think SAF is genuiinely moved by what has been reported last week with regards to Hillsborough, for 23 years us Liverpool fans have been branded, slated you name it and then when it comes down to the bare facts its the authoroties that got it wrong,.
The families of the dead must be reeling, so for SAF to come out with his words on the situation publicly shows he has a inner soul, we cannot wind back the clock and bring people back, but what we can do is show respect to the breaved families that had to go through the heartache of seeing their loved ones not walk through the door after what should have been a good afternoon out.
I fully respect SAF for his kind words and I hope the game at the weekend will be a remembrance for those who died watching a sport they loved.
Last night was the way it should be. A credit to both Liverpool clubs, and a credit to Fergie on behalf of United.
