Trevor Hicks has issued a plea for fans to respect the victims of the Hillsborough disaster when Liverpool face Manchester United on Sunday.

The match will be Liverpool's first home game since the scandalous truth surrounding the tragedy in which 96 fans lost their lives was revealed, and there are fears that some United supporters will not respect the victims due to the rivalry between the two clubs.

However, Hicks believes that rivalries must stay on the pitch, and hopes that United fans will follow the example set by Everton in remembering the victims.

"It's a big day on a normal occasion, and Sunday is the first game after the report. The Everton fans were absolutely magic the other night. The way they marked the report was unbelievable and I would hope that Sunday can be the same on our home ground at Anfield. It would be fitting for the memory of the 96 if it could be as it was at Everton," Hicks told Sky Sports News.

"It has been one of the things that's kept us together. The support of the fans at Anfield, in particular, but across Liverpool and across the nation has been fantastic. We wouldn't have been able to get through the 23 years without all that support so it will even more poignant than normal.

"It is non-fans, the yobbos the proper fans are there for the football," added Hicks. Yes, we all chant, we all rant, but we can be rivals and I have no problem with that. I have friends who are Man Utd fans and we laugh and we joke and we pull each others legs, but that is where it should stop and being nasty about tragedies should stop."

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has already voiced his complete support of Liverpool over the tragedy.