The Sunday Times
Manchester United were last night forced to remove an astonishing "guide" from their official website telling their supporters to indulge in "Spanish Scouse-baiting" ahead of their Premiership clash with Liverpool at Old Trafford tomorrow, writes Jim Munro.
The attempt at humour, contained in the site’s Fanzone section, was based on the influx of Spanish international players at Anfield this season, but included translations for lyrics in provocative football chants such as "Build a bonfire, build a bonfire, put the Scousers on the top," and "You find a dead rat and you think it’s a treat, in your Liverpool slums."
The Sunday Times received several calls yesterday afternoon from concerned supporters who had read the material on the site. After hearing of some of the lyrics, Les Lawson, chairman of the Merseyside branch of the official Liverpool supporters’ club, said: "It’s disgusting. I would have thought that any sort of literature that appears on an official website, whether in a fans section or not, would not appear without the club’s knowledge. Anything that is to the detriment of another club should certainly not appear. I feel an official apology is in order."
Phil Townsend, Manchester United’s director of communications, said initially last night: "It’s a part of the website that is run by the fans. We do not officially endorse what is said. There is a disclaimer contained on the page." But within 15 minutes, Townsend was back on the phone to confirm: "Most of the items will be off the site by 8pm. There will perhaps be a light-hearted one left on, such as the chant about putting the ball into the net, which hopefully everyone will see the funny side of."
By midnight though, the contentious page remained unaltered. Contained in the Fanzone section of the official website, subtitled By The Fans, For The Fans, Every Friday, the article declared: "Fanzone presents ‘Spanish Scouse-Baiting’ as Benitez’s Hispanic Liverpool visit Old Trafford."
The page carried pictures of Liverpool’s new manager, Rafael Benitez, plus new signings Xabi Alonso, Luis Garcia and Josemi and, alongside each man, a Spanish translation of an inflammatory English chant.
Tomorrow’s fixture is one of the most fiercely contested in the Premiership, both on and off the field, a fact recognised by Benitez. Expressing a hope that all rivalry will remain good- natured, the Liverpool manager said: "The fans are excited, they will shout at each other, but at the end they will walk out together."
Ed. For the record, this was still up this morning.
From the official site's Fanzone:
*Interpretations may be a little ropey. And for the record, Fanzone deplores Scouse-baiting.
"Alimente el Scousers. Permita que ellos sepan es tiempo de Navidad." This translates as " Feed the Scousers. Let them know it's Christmas time."
"Construya una fogata, construye una fogata, puso el Scousers en la cima." is "Build a bonfire, build a bonfire, put the Scousers on the top."
This is reported very sanctimously on Liverpool's official site with the headline 'Fans shocked by official Man Utd site':
Very poor stuff on an official website. And they wonder why they are the most hated club in the world? Need look no further. Fanzines are different things altogether. I've seen the Man Utd fanzines and they have sunk to lower depths than Liverpool's. However for the official website to come up with discriminatory remarks such as this is a disgrace. Do you see this kind of stuff on our site? No. Do you think that putting songs about throwing Scousers onto fires is showing Man Utd as a great club?
Well, we must be doing something right then!
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