Chelsea-supporting police officer SACKED after admitting to tragedy chanting against Liverpool at Anfield

Sergeant Tyler Coppin plead guilty to the public order offence having been ejected from Anfield and subsequently arrested in October 2024. Essex police opened a misconduct case, leading to a three-year banning order being handed out – alongside a £645 fine.

Coppin was removed by stewards on Merseyside after being spotted aiming chants towards the home support. A misconduct panel determined that the disgraced officer had “breached standards of professional behaviour in relation to honesty and integrity, authority, respect and courtesy and discreditable conduct”.

Coppin has been dismissed by Essex police without notice and placed on the College of Policing barred list. He had a previously unblemished record and is considered to have received “the only appropriate outcome” after enduring “a moment’s serious stupidity”.

Essex police chief constable Ben-Julian Harrington, who chaired the misconduct hearing, said: “It is clear that ex-Sgt Coppin was remorseful and may not have been aware of the impact of his words, but he has been criminally convicted of a public order offence. His actions will seriously undermine public trust and confidence and I must send a clear message to officers, staff and the wider public that behaviour such as this cannot and will not be tolerated in policing. If officers are responsible for upholding the law, it cannot be right that they break it.”

Chief Inspector Kevin Chatterton of Merseyside police added: “This type of behaviour has no place in football. We will take action and identify those who commit hate crime in any form, and this includes unacceptable chanting which causes distress to others.”

Tragedy chanting is defined by the Crown Prosecution Service as “when fans sing, chant or gesture offensive messages about disasters or accidents involving players or other fans”, with a number of banning orders having been handed out in recent seasons.