Manchester City have vowed to ban for life fans who sang sick chants about Sir Bobby Charlton following his passing.
City have appealed to their fans for information after some supporters were overheard singing offensive songs about the Manchester United legend during their 2-1 win over Brighton on Saturday.
England World Cup winner and United icon Charlton passed away in the early hours of Saturday at the age of 86, after suffering with dementia for several years.
In a statement, City strongly condemned the chants and asked their supporters to get in touch with the club if they have any information about those responsible, vowing to take the strongest possible action against them
The statement from City said: “ Manchester City are extremely disappointed to have learned of reports of offensive chanting from a small number of individuals about Sir Bobby Charlton in some of the concourses of the Etihad Stadium during half time of yesterday's Premier League fixture against Brighton.
"The club condemns these chants in the strongest terms, and apologises unreservedly to the family and friends of Sir Bobby, and to all those at Manchester United.
“On this day of all days, when the stadium stood to pay tribute to our own legend in Francis Lee, Manchester City supporters should understand and appreciate as keenly as anyone the need for respect in our game.
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“Our security team are studying CCTV footage of the concourse areas. We are thankful to those who have already come forward to report this matter and we continue to appeal for any information that can help us identify the individuals involved, so that we can take the appropriate action to issue banning orders.
“Fans who see or hear abusive behaviour are encouraged to text 0770 0151 894 to make our dedicated security team aware of what they have witnessed.”
City go to Old Trafford on Sunday for the derby and boss Pep Guardiola said: “Next week when we go there, to Old Trafford, we will be present to make a tribute.
"I love this country for many things, but one of the things is how they take care of legends. They are part of the club, they travel and represent.
"I think the big players, the legends, football has to take care of them, and in this country it’s the best for that by far
"Sir Bobby Charlton won a lot of titles with United, but when you have this presence, this figure who represents United for a long time, it’s because it's beyond the titles, it’s beyond that. I'm so sorry for his loss and always the thoughts are for the family."
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