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Mayor Liverpool Joe Anderson says the Express writer who caused outrage with an LFC comment piece this morning has been suspended.

The article, by Colin Mafham, which has since been taken down, questioned whether "the latest generation" of fans could "add another chapter to England's footballing book of condolences" following the Reds' tie with Roma.

It even appeared to suggest the LFC fans bore some responsibility for the pre-match incident that left an Irish Liverpool fan fighting for his life - a tragedy over which an Italian man has been charged.

Liverpool's mayor hit out at The Daily Express and directly addressed the newspaper's editor demanding to know why they believed it was an acceptable article to print.

Mayor Anderson's tweet tonight read: "To the Express Editor. I demand to know how you could ever believe it was acceptable to publish Mafham's piece about Liverpool fans, two years to the day after the Hillsborough verdict. Your paper has learnt nothing and you should face the city and apologise."

(Image: Colin Lane / Liverpool Echo) (Image: PA Wire)

Just after 8pm tonight, Everton fan Mr Anderson tweeted again to say he had been in contact with the Express editor Gary Jones.

He said: "Really passionate, sincere heartfelt apology just been made to me by the Editor @Daily_Express Gary Jones over the appalling slur on LFC fans and our City. The Journalist concerned has rightly been suspended and an investigation is being held."

He later tweeted: "The Editor of @Daily_Express Gary Jones personally called me to apologise because I had expressed my anger and outrage at the slur on fans City and the #96. I have no doubt that the paper will publicly apologise and deal with the journalist."

When contacted by the ECHO, a Daily Express spokesperson tonight said they would not be making any further comment.

Earlier today, Reds fans branded the Express article "disgusting", "disgraceful" and "laughable" today.

The ECHO's Head of Sport David Prentice also published his own thoughts about the piece, saying: "A 53-year-old Liverpool supporter lies in hospital in a critical condition, the subject of an assault...

"Yet in a vile, presumptuous and repugnant article published on today's Daily Express website the writer, Colin Mafham, appears to infer that Liverpool brought such trouble upon themselves.

"We shouldn't be surprised.

"We've heard those kind of historic prejudices before - but thought they went out of fashion with The Spectator's notorious 'self pity city'. Sadly not."

The Daily Express piece asked: "When you have a team capable of playing the joyous football Liverpool have for most of this season how on earth are their fans always seemingly involved in such horrific altercations on big European nights. Why does trouble seem to follow them like bees round a honey pot?"

The Express article made reference to the Heysel and Hillsborough, saying: "You would have thought the deaths of 39 Italians at the European Cup final Liverpool lost to Juventus in 1985 - plus the five year ban on English clubs that consequently came after that - would have had a sobering effect.

"You would have thought the horrors at Hillsborough and 96 more deaths that followed only four years later would have made everyone more aware of their responsibilities to each other.

"Those two tragedies, in which the central figures were sadly mostly from Liverpool, are arguably football's most painful Achilles and hopefully will never happen again."

The article made no reference to the finding the 96 Liverpool fans who died as a result of the Hillsborough disaster were unlawfully killed - and that Liverpool fans were judged to have played no role in the tragedy.

Calling on the club to officially recognise its "big problem" - and condemn those fans he believes are responsible, Colin Mafham added: "No one is suggesting that the violence that erupted on Tuesday night was solely the fault of Liverpool fans. Their visitors from Rome were clearly just as thuggish, and just as frightening.

"But there are suggestions that the reputation of Liverpool supporters had gone before them and Roman yobs had simply decided to get in first, and with such awful consequences. It’s not right, but it does again highlight a common denominator."