Manchester City have denied mocking Sean Cox in their Premier League title win.
Footage emerged on social media of Pep Guardiola’s side celebrating the triumph on a flight back from their final game of the season against Brighton on Sunday.
City players and staff appeared to be singing an alternate version of the ‘Allez Allez Allez’ chant made famous by Liverpool, who they beat to the title by one point.
The song refers to Reds fans ‘crying in the stands’ and ‘battered on the streets’ after last season’s Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid in Kiev.
Some have alleged that the lyric refers to the attack on Sean Cox, who suffered life-changing injuries when he was attacked by Roma fans in April last year.
Another line refers to the Anfield club as ‘victims of it all’, which has been claimed to be a dark jibe about the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.
But City officials have shot down the suggestions that the song, which has been sung by their fans throughout this season, has any malicious connotations.
A spokesperson said: “The song in question, which has been a regular chant during the 2018-19 season, refers to the 2018 Uefa Champions League final in Kiev.
“Any suggestion that the lyrics relate to Sean Cox or the Hillsborough tragedy is entirely without foundation.”
Relations between the two clubs have soured since City’s coach was vandalised as it made its way to last season’s Champions League quarter-final at Anfield.