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Bottle thrown at Manchester United team bus as it arrives at Anfield

BySpotted UK

Dec 17, 2023

A glass bottle was thrown at Manchester United's team bus as it arrived at Anfield.

The team bus was making its way along Anfield Road, near the Tia Hotel, when it was hit by the bottle ahead of kick off of Manchester United vs Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, December 17. Footage shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, showed the moment the bottle hit the top of the bus, causing a small crack in a side window.

Fans could be heard chanting "Oh Manchester is full of s***" in the footage, as the bottle hit a top window of the bus. Manchester United travelled to Anfield today to take on the Reds, with kick-off at 4.30pm.

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A Liverpool FC spokesperson said: "We are aware of footage of the incident circulating online and are working with Merseyside Police to fully investigate and identify those responsible.

"LFC utterly condemns the actions that led to damage being caused to the MUFC team bus during its arrival at Anfield. Any individuals found guilty of this reprehensible behaviour will also face the full force of the club’s sanction process."

Merseyside Police Match Commander, Chief Superintendent Mark Wiggins, said: "We are aware that there was some slight damage caused to the Manchester United team bus as it approached Anfield stadium this afternoon ahead of the Liverpool v Manchester United match. It is believed that as the bus was making its way along Anfield Road, near to the Tia Hotel, a bottle was thrown at the bus and chipped a side window causing a hairline crack.

"Thankfully no-one on the bus, or in the area of the incident, was injured. Prior to the game we worked very closely with both clubs to ensure the safety of the public and the teams themselves, and it is disappointing that this has occurred.
"We will be viewing CCTV footage and working with Liverpool Football Club in a bid to identify who was responsible and bring them to justice. I would appeal to anyone who may have seen the incident, or who knows who was responsible to contact us. This type of behaviour reflects badly on the genuine football fans who go to the games week in, week out, and we need to find the person responsible."

Liverpool have not lost at home to United since January 2016 and will fancy their chances of extending their recent, impressive streak against their big rivals. You can follow the ECHO's live coverage of the match from Anfield via our live blog here.

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