Hillsborough campaigner Margaret Aspinall has offered to meet with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola after vile chants were sung during the club's clash with Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
Mrs Aspinall, whose son James died at Hillsborough has offered to meet Guardiola to explain why chants about the disaster are so painful for survivors and victims' families. She has also called on the Football Association and Premier League to take stronger action and impose points deductions and fines on clubs whose fans sing about stadium tragedies.
Liverpool FC's 1-0 victory over City on Sunday was marred by chants from the away end, with footage showing a number of fans singing "murderers" and "always the victims". Graffiti was also found in the away end's toilets relating to the Hillsborough and Heysel tragedies. Liverpool released a statement expressing disappointment at the "vile chants".
READ MORE: More calls for Hillsborough in school curriculum after 'vile' Manchester City chants
The FA has opened an investigation into the offensive chants - as well as looking into an incident where coins were thrown at Guardiola. Merseyside Police is also investigating damage to the City bus. And now Ms Aspinall, has said the "vile" chants left her disgusted.
Speaking to The Times, the campaigner said she believes Guardiola could use his status to call on supporters not to sing abusive chants. Mrs Aspinall said: "It is not all the supporters. You cannot blame them all. But there are vile people out there who are uneducated, who are idiots. They need to realise that they are going to a game safely because of 97 innocent people.
"They should be on their knees thanking them for their safety - 97 innocent people are in a grave for the safety of the people sitting in a seat or standing now. It hurts me when I hear these vile comments. It hurts me when I think of my son, so innocent, just 18, in a grave.
“It is not just the City fans. We have had it from the fans of more or less every club that has played at Anfield.”
Earlier this week West Derby MP Ian Byrne renewed his calls for Hillsborough to be taught as part of the national curriculum. Mr Byrne, who is a Hillsborough survivor, leads an initiative called the Real Truth Legacy Project working with fellow survivors and the families of the 97.
Mr Byrne said: "We aim to educate current and future generations about what really happened at the disaster and about the subsequent cover up and the long fight for justice."
Mrs Aspinall has called for more education and action from the FA by introducing points deductions against clubs whose fans are guilty of Hillsborough chants. She told The Times : "Otherwise this is going on and on and on. We have had to listen to these comments for years now.
"It is not fair for the survivors who might be at the game listening to that, and most importantly, it is not fair to the families. We have been hurt enough and we do not need these vile chants to hurt us any more."
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