Manchester City have apologised to Liverpool after the minute’s silence to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster was disrupted by noise from their supporters at Wembley and forced it to be brought to an end after just 20 seconds.
The disturbance came before Liverpool faced rivals City in the FA Cup semi-finals, with manager Pep Guardiola later saying those City fans to make noise during the remembrance “don’t represent who we want to be”.
WIth the match taking place one day after 15 April - the date in which a crush on the Leppings Lane led to the death of 97 people at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in 1989 - both teams lined up on the centre circle but noise continued to emerge from the end of the stadium where the City fans were seated.
It sparked booing from Liverpool supporters at the opposite end of the stadium and referee Michael Oliver was forced to blow his whistle after around 20 seconds to bring the silence to an early end.
Manchester City released a statement midway through the first half apologising for the incident. A club spokesperson said: “Manchester City are extremely disappointed with the actions of some City supporters during the minute’s silence before today’s game. The Club sincerely apologises to all those connected with Liverpool Football Club.”
“The club made a statement, the [fans] don’t represent who we want to be,” Guardiola said after the match. “We are close to Liverpool who went through this tragedy and I think the statement from the club represents who we are.”
Liverpool were facing Manchester City for the second time in a week, following the 2-2 draw at the Eithad Stadium last Sunday, and the teams are separated by just one point in the Premier League title race.
Liverpool also held a minute’s silence at Anfield before their Champions League match against Benfica on Tuesday, in what was their closest home fixture to the anniversary of the disaster.
