TRAGEDY chants have to be eliminated in the same way as those of a racist and sexist nature, according to a Hillsborough survivor.

In the last week, both Manchester City and Chelsea have apologised to Liverpool and their fans after supporters of both clubs sang songs related to the 1989 disaster in which 97 people were killed.

Incidents appear to be on the rise but there currently appears little in the way of deterrents to prevent them.

“The apology from Chelsea was good to hear but it’s probably the fifth or sixth one Liverpool have had this season,” Hillsborough survivor Tony O’Neil told the PA news agency.

“Without legislation there is nothing they can do about it. I think it needs to be dealt with like any racial or sexual chanting that happens at games.

“They [perpetrators] need to be ejected from the ground and given some sort of banning order.

“If that doesn’t work then, similar to racism, if these things carry on the referee should be instructed to stop the game and bring the players off the pitch.

“People need to think ‘if we don’t stop doing this, the game is going to be over’. That’s the only sort of action I think will have an effect.”

The chants were particularly audible on the television broadcast during Tuesday’s 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge and the concern is that the effect they can have is reaching a wider audience.

Joe Blott, chairman of fan group Spirit of Shankly, said: “It has reached a peak since Paris [with the chaos at the Champions League final].

“Whether it’s Liverpool or Leeds with Galatasaray, Manchester United with Munich or QPR and Grenfell – none of this is acceptable.

“It is not necessarily about trying to legislate our way out of this situation. The powers are already there in terms of the Public Order Act.

“What we need is education. It is about providing the opportunity for people to understand the impact of what they are singing.”

An online petition calling for tragedy chanting to be made a criminal offence currently has more than 12,000 signatures.