Manchester United and Liverpool charged by Uefa

Manchester United and Liverpool have been charged by Uefa following disturbances at Thursday night's Europa League game at Old Trafford.

United have been charged over crowd disturbances, the throwing of objects and stairways being blocked. Liverpool have been charged over illicit chants, setting off fireworks, throwing of objects, crowd disturbances and arriving late for kick-off.

Liverpool progressed to the quarter-finals 3-1 on aggregate after Philippe Coutinho cancelled out Anthony Martial's penalty opener to secure a 1-1 draw in the second leg but the tie was marred by some unruly fan behaviour during both games.

A handful of Liverpool fans sitting in the top tier of the East Stand among the home supporters unfurled a banner in the dying minutes of the game at Old Trafford, sparking clashes in which punches were thrown and a seat hurled. Liverpool fans in the lower tier of the stand began chanting “Munich” in a reference to the 1958 air disaster while the fighting progressed.

Police and stewards were forced to form a human shield to separate the two sets of supporters and Greater Manchester Police confirmed making five arrests and said they were investigating a “handful of concerning incidents”.

Superintendent Jim Liggett, match commander for the tie, said: “The policing operation for the Manchester United v Liverpool match has now come to an end and towards the end of the game there were a handful of concerning incidents which are currently being investigated. We have made a total of five arrests.”

Fans also lit flares shortly after Coutinho equalised at the end of the first half.

In the first leg at Anfield, Liverpool’s 2-0 victory was marred by a section of United supporters chanting about the Hillsborough stadium disaster, when 96 Liverpool fans died following a crush of bodies at an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest in 1989. United avoided a Uefa sanction as the match officials did not mention the incident in their match report. The case will be dealt with by the Uefa Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body on 19 May.

Liverpool are looking into claims youth team player Jordan Williams mocked the Munich air disaster during last night's Europa League match at Manchester United.