Eight people were detained by police after reports of 'tragedy chanting' at the Liverpool v Manchester United game.

Two men- a 28 year-old from Nottinghamshire and a man from Hendersonville, Tennessee in the United States were arrested on suspicion of a public order offence, Merseyside Police said.

Six people, including four from Greater Manchester, were also asked to voluntarily attend interviews under caution on suspicion of the same offence under section 5 of the Public Order Act, which relates to tragedy chanting, following the 2-2 draw in the Premier League clash between the old rivals on Sunday (January 5), the force said.

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They are a 50-year-old man and 52-year-old woman from Manchester, a 42-year-old man from Hale, Trafford, a 30 year-old man from Stockport, 59-year-old man from Congleton, Cheshire and a 21-year-old from Bala, Wales.

Police have not specified which tragedies the alleged chants relate to or which teams those were detained support. A force chief said they would take action 'regardless of team affiliation.'

Chief Inspector Lisa Ledder said: “Football fans who chant about tragedies cause huge distress to those families and people directly affected.

“The tragic loss of life is not a subject for tribal point scoring, and this behaviour has absolutely no place in football. Regardless of team affiliation, we will continue to work with clubs to take action to identify and bring any perpetrators to justice.

“I hope the arrests of these individuals sends a clear message and acts as a deterrent to others that you risk getting a criminal record and ending up in custody if you choose to engage in this despicable behaviour.”

In March last year United and Liverpool announced their charitable foundations had come together to deliver an education programme on the impact the impact the tragedy at Hillsborough tragedy and the Munich Air disaster had on the two clubs, their fans, and the cities. It would also touch on "the impact of tragedy-related abuse and why it must stop"they said in a joint statement.

Both clubs said they were 'committed to action against those found to have committed tragedy-related abuse, whether in stadiums or online.'