Three men arrested for homophobic chanting during Liverpool-Chelsea Premier League clash

Merseyside Police have confirmed that three men - aged 49, 37 and 23 - have been arrested on suspicion of homophobic intentional harassment, alarm and distress during Liverpool's match with Chelsea at the weekend.

The 37-year-old has been released on bail pending further enquiries, while the other two men will take part in a voluntary interview.

As reported by The Athletic, Superintendent Paul Sutcliffe said: “Merseyside Police will not tolerate hate crime of any form, and we will bring to justice anyone found responsible for committing any offensive chanting.

“In this instance, if the three suspects are charged and found guilty for the offence, then we will be seeking football banning orders on them.

“It is vital that anyone who witnesses such an offence reports it to stewards or the police immediately, so we can take the necessary action.

“As with all matches, we work very closely with both clubs to ensure the safety of the public and the teams themselves.”

The news of the arrests follows on from previous reports that 16 individuals in the away end had been ejected from Anfield after repeatedly singing offensive chants related to the Hillsborough Disaster.

Recently, Jurgen Klopp had praised Liverpool fans for their attempts to eradicate homophobic language at Anfield.