Chelsea condemn ‘vile’ chants from supporters as they rear their ugly head once again during Liverpool clash

Chelsea, Liverpool and the Premier League have slammed supporters who took part in 'vile chants' targeted at Hillsborough victims on Tuesday night.

A section of Chelsea supporters could be heard chanting offensive songs at Liverpool fans during the meeting between the two clubs.

It's far from the first time the songs have been sung by Premier League fans which reference the 1989 tragedy when 97 people were killed with words including "always the victims" and "murderers".

Following the match, Chelsea released a statement on the chants and said: "Chelsea FC condemns the inappropriate chants heard from some home fans during this evening’s game. Hateful chanting has no place in football and we apologise to anyone who has been offended by them."

This message was supported by Liverpool with the club releasing its own short statement that read: "We know the impact these vile chants have on those who continue to suffer as a result of football tragedies. For their sake, this has to stop."

The Premier League has seen a rise in tragedy chanting this season with Manchester City also forced to condemn fans who sang similar songs during the meeting with Liverpool last weekend.

Last year the FA expressed concern for the "highly offensive and deeply upsetting" rise in the chants and supported clubs and fans working towards stamping the behaviour out of the game.

The Hillsborough tragedy remains the UK's worst-ever sporting disaster with 97 fans unlawfully killed. A jury found match commander Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield was "responsible for manslaughter by gross negligence" in 2016 after a painful 27-year campaign from the loved ones of victims and survivors.

Releasing a statement after the tragedy chants last night, the Premier League said: "The Premier League condemns the tragedy chanting heard at tonight's match between Chelsea and Liverpool.

"We continue to treat this as an unacceptable issue and are seeking to address it as a priority."