A Liverpool fan has told how he was subjected to horrific physical and verbal abuse by Arsenal fans after attending a match in the home end at the Emirates Stadium.
Ian McLachlan, 68, said he was abused, assaulted and threatened during the match on December 22, which he attended as a guest of his son-in-law - an Arsenal fan.
Sitting in the home section of the ground, he was told by his relative to temper any celebrations if his beloved Reds were to score.
However, when Liverpool scored first - he admitted that “enthusiasm got the better of him” and he let out a small cheer.
What followed, he said, was a huge level of abuse, intimidation and even physical assaults from the Arsenal fans around him.
He told the Liverpool Echo : “I was called a f***ing Scouse c***, a f***ing Scouse b*stard and one of the supporters even screamed down my ear that he was going to f***ing kill me.”
He said: “I didn’t go over the top but all hell broke loose - it was really scary, the atmosphere was really intimidating.”
Mr McLachlan said that when a ground steward came to speak to him at half-time, he was shocked to be blamed himself.
He said: “The steward said ‘you’ve been mouthing off’ and I said I had cheered once and had nothing but abuse from people around me.
He said the steward said he didn’t care about that and said the only reason he wasn’t throwing him out of the ground was because it was Christmas.
He added: “The steward was very intimidating and kept pointing his finger at me in a very accusatory manner.”
After going 2-0 up, Reds fans will remember that Arsenal hit back to score three times and take the lead - before a late Roberto Firmino goal levelled the match at 3-3.
Mr McLachlan said that as Arsenal’s goals went in, the verbal abuse escalated and he was frequently pushed in the back by home fans.
The retired dad-of-two decided to write to Arsenal shortly after the match to complain about the treatment he received.
After not receiving a response from the club, he wrote again last week - and is angry to have still not been contacted by anyone at Arsenal.
He said: “By not responding, they are basically condoning this behaviour.”
The ECHO understands that Arsenal Football Club is investigating Mr McLachlan’s allegations and will be contacting him shortly.