Liverpool fans wrote a chant for Federico Chiesa to the tune of Dean Martin’s “Sway”:
“We can hear them crying in Turin,Federico he’s here to win,One chat with Arne Slot and he said ‘ciao’,F** off Juve, I’m a Kopite now…”*
On the surface, it’s playful terrace banter about Juventus losing Chiesa to Liverpool. But the line “crying in Turin” hit differently in 2025, the 40th anniversary of the Heysel disaster, when 39 Juventus supporters were killed before the European Cup final. For some, the lyric sounded like a cruel reminder of grief, even if that wasn’t the intent.
Veteran Liverpool journalist Tony Evans called it “pathetic” and warned that “Juventus fans will hear echoes of Heysel.” Others, including many Liverpool supporters, pushed back. They argued the chant was harmless fun. Ok.
When chants cross the line
This debate fits a wider pattern of chants that veer into tragedy, racism, or sectarianism:
- Munich & Hillsborough: Rival fans in England have mocked both disasters. In 2023, Liverpool and Manchester United issued a joint statement: “It is unacceptable to use the loss of life… to score points, and it is time for it to stop.” The UK’s CPS now prosecutes “tragedy chanting.”
- Superga (Italy, 1949): Juventus were fined in 2014 after fans displayed banners mocking the plane crash that killed Torino’s team. Club president Andrea Agnelli condemned it: “Tragedies are not to be touched upon. No more vile chants or banners.”
- West Ham (2012): Fans sang anti-Semitic songs at Tottenham, including references to Hitler and gas chambers. The club issued lifetime bans; the FA called it “sickening.”
- Rangers’ “Famine Song”: Sung at Celtic fans, telling Irish immigrants to “go home.” Courts ruled it racist; arrests and bans followed.
- Spain (2023): Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior faced racist chants, prompting global outcry and new legal penalties in Spain.
- Union Berlin (2021): UEFA sanctioned the club after anti-Semitic abuse of Maccabi Haifa fans; perpetrators were banned for life.
Passion vs. poison
Chants are part of football’s tribal culture. Supporters defend them as humor and loyalty. But mocking deaths or entire identities crosses into cruelty. As Klopp put it: “If we can keep the passion and lose the poison, it will be so much better for everyone.”
The Chiesa chant sits right on that line. To some, it’s cheeky banter. To others, its timing and wording reopen old wounds. What’s clear is that in modern football, chants don’t stay local. They spread online, become memes, and attract scrutiny. That visibility forces a reckoning over where passion ends and poison begins.
