Luton Fans Shamed Their Club With Liverpool Tragedy Chants

First, the  good news. Luton were incredibly resourceful, defended tenaciously, and reduced Mohamed Salah, possibly the best Premier League player of this generation, to a spectator. Issa Kabore was a lively right-back, and Ross Barkley’s comeback continues apace. In the face of stiff competition, the two combined devastatingly for Luton’s goal and were their best performers.

Taking a point away from Liverpool gives them the most reason to be optimistic of the four-strong relegation pack, a potential season-long mini-league they currently lead on goal difference.

They did, however, have a favourable early-season schedule, which they did not take advantage of. They have yet to win a league game at home and now face Crystal Palace before facing Arsenal, Manchester City, Newcastle, and Chelsea. While they will be buoyed by their performance on Sunday, it also exposed their continued naiveté and proclivity for throwing away points.

And, for all of their efforts on the pitch, Luton Town’s famed fans let them down spectacularly. The game against one of the world’s most successful clubs was the highest-profile game Kenilworth Road has hosted since their return to the top flight. It was nights like these that the Hatters had hoped for for so long, but you’d never know.

They chanted their way through the anti-Scouse classics in the first half, covering starvation, benefits, and poverty, before plunging into the depths of tragedy. “Always the Victims” was chanted after a Liverpool player collapsed, a chant with unavoidable parallels to the Hillsborough disaster. It was followed by a song that blamed the visitors for Luton’s failure to qualify for European football following the Heysel disaster.

This must simply be punished, whether by the club or the FA and Premier League. This was both horribly archaic and shockingly small-time for a side branding themselves as idealists and overachievers, as a fan-owned footballing dreamland attempting to establish themselves as a Premier League side deserving of the name.

What should have been another in the club’s long list of memorable nights should now be remembered for the home crowd’s betrayal. Luton Town should apologise to their fans as soon as possible.