Luton have threatened to ban any supporters who are found to have taken part in ‘tragedy chanting’ during Sunday’s home match against Liverpool.

The Football Association has asked the club – and police – for their observations after taunts indirectly referencing the Hillsborough disaster were heard during the 1-1 draw, while the PA news agency understands Liverpool have also written asking what measures are to be taken.

Luton issued a statement saying they were “saddened” and “extremely disappointed that a small number of supporters soured the occasion with chants that may be interpreted as being in relation to tragedies that have affected Liverpool FC in the past”.

“The club condemns any kind of chanting that knowingly seeks to divide, and our safety and security team launched an internal investigation at the earliest opportunity,” their statement read.

Luton said they were reviewing CCTV evidence to identify individuals, who could face stadium bans and criminal prosecutions.

The club were coming under increasing pressure to make a public statement after intervention from the FA and Liverpool, who have have worked closely with Manchester City and Manchester United fans’ groups in recent seasons on education around the harm caused by tragedy chanting.

However, part of Luton’s statement suggesting fans may have sung the chants without knowing the full meaning of what they were singing is understood to have not been received particularly well on Merseyside.

“What has quickly become evident is that a number of people may have taken part without knowledge that the words used were in relation to the Hillsborough and Heysel tragedies, and we see the route to persuading supporters not to repeat these chants in future is through communication and education,” Luton’s statement added.

“On behalf of all at Luton Town, we would like to wholeheartedly apologise to anyone offended by the chants heard during yesterday’s match, and will continue to work with supporter groups to educate fans on chants that are classed as tragedy abuse by football authorities, the police and CPS.”

Ninety-seven football fans died as a result of a crush at an FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough in Sheffield on April 15, 1989.

After the Luton match, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp said he did not hear the chanting, which occurred while the game was still goalless shortly after half-time, but added: “Shame on everyone who said it.”

An FA statement read: “We strongly condemn chanting of this nature and will continue to work closely with our stakeholders across the game, including the clubs, leagues, fan groups and the relevant authorities to proactively address this issue.”

Former Reds defender Jamie Carragher, who was working at the match as a Sky Sports analyst, said: “As supporters you’ve got to have rivalry, there is no doubt. But we’re better than that.

“It’s happened two or three times in the game. All clubs have been guilty of that over the years at different times.

“But the world we live in right now, I think we’re better than that.”

The Premier League also issued its own statement on Monday evening, which read: “The Premier League condemns the tragedy-related chanting heard at yesterday’s match between Luton Town and Liverpool.

“We continue to treat this as an unacceptable issue and are committed to addressing it as a priority.

“Those found guilty of tragedy-related abuse face an automatic club ban and will be referred to the police.”

In June, a man who wore a shirt at last season’s FA Cup final which referenced the Hillsborough tragedy was issued with a four-year football banning order.

As part of the ‘Love Football, Protect The Game’ initiative agreed by the English game’s authorities on the eve of the current season, regulation changes and tough new measures have been introduced which will lead to those found to have been involved in tragedy-related offences facing stadium bans and potential criminal prosecution.

James Maddison has urged Tottenham to keep acting like a “top team” after they headed into the international break still unbeaten in the Premier League.

Spurs have faced Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal during their first eight league fixtures under new boss Ange Postecoglou and collected 20 points out of a possible 24.

It represents Tottenham’s best start to a league season since their 1960-61 double-winning campaign, but they were forced to produce a different type of display on Saturday in a hard-fought 1-0 win at Luton, where they played the whole of the second half with 10 men.

“You get the same three points here as you do beating Liverpool and United at home,” Maddison said. “It’s just as important. I absolutely loved the character of the lads.

“You have 38 games in a season and not every game is going pretty, scoring goals, free-flowing, ‘AngeBall’.

“Sometimes you have to dig deep and show the grit and determination. People are always asking top teams, do they have that side to them? The top teams all do and we want to be a top team. I’m so happy we showed that.”

Ex-Celtic boss Postecoglou has only worked with this group of players since July, but they have quickly taken to his front-foot, attacking philosophy.

Spurs have scored 18 goals in the Premier League with summer recruit Maddison involved in seven and topping the assist charts with five so far after he set up Micky van de Ven’s winner on Saturday, but he insists they remain a work in progress.

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He added: “We’re so early into the manager’s reign. We’re at the start. Even in training, sometimes the messages he’s giving us, it’s still new, we’re still working on it. It’s not like we’re three years in.

“When you’ve worked with a manager for a long time, like when I was at Leicester with Brendan (Rodgers), I had been there that long I knew what he wanted from me.

“I’d realise who we were playing at the weekend and have an idea of what my role would be at the weekend before we’d even trained or worked on it. You get that partnership and relationship.

“We’re so early, we’re still at the start of that. It’s not about getting carried away.

“Of course, it’s better to be up that end than the other end. Believe me, I’ve done both! I just want to continue that, continue working and that will leave it us where it leaves us.”

Tottenham went top of the table on Saturday but Maddison played down talk of a title tilt yet.

“We’ve played Arsenal, we’ve played Liverpool, we’ve played United. Coming here, it’s just a different type of challenge but it’s still tough,” the England international said.

“Just because you’re playing Luton, it doesn’t mean there is more time or more space. It’s just a different challenge.

“I probably didn’t expect us to be top of the league, unbeaten, no.

“Realistically you would never even guess that far ahead. You just want to start well and we’re looking to continue that.”

Luton have signed former Chelsea and Everton midfielder Ross Barkley on a free transfer.

Former England international Barkley, 29, spent last season at Ligue 1 club Nice following his departure from Chelsea by mutual consent.

Barkley – who played for England at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and also had a loan spell at Aston Villa – could make his debut for the Hatters in their opening Premier League match at Brighton on Saturday.

“Why Luton? Going from the Conference to the Premier League is a great story and for me personally to be back in the Premier League, it’s great motivation,” Barkley said on the Luton club website.

“I’m still relatively young and over the last couple of years I’ve not played as much as I’d have liked.

“But I’ve reserved a lot of energy and looked after myself, so it’s great to be here now as I’ve got a lot to show but I’m ready and feeling motivated.”

Luton manager Rob Edwards is confident Barkley can bring something different to his squad as their embark on a first Premier League campaign after winning the Sky Bet Championship play-off final.

“Ross brings loads of experience at the top level, has international experience and brings an X-factor,” Edwards said.

“He gives us something different, he has that ability to make something out of nothing and we need that in the Premier League. He’s got all the tools required to make a difference for us.

“It’s really exciting for the football club. We want the fans to be excited and they should be about Ross’ arrival.”