Wanderers fans have condemned a campaign to move Bolton's away game at Manchester United to a different date.

United supporters fear bitter rivalry will ruin commemorations of the 40th anniversary of the Munich air disaster.

They predict that special arrangements to commemorate the tragedy, which killed most of the famous Busby Babes team, will be marred by abusive chants from sections of the Bolton following.

And now they have appealed to the football authorities to act. Wanderers are due to play at Old Trafford on February 7 - the day after the 40th anniversary.

But the editor of Wanderers' fanzine Tripe and Trotters, Gary Parkinson, is opposed to the game being switched to a less controversial date. Letters explaining the fears have been sent to both clubs, the Premier League, the Football Association, Sports Minister Tony Banks and the head of the government's Football Task Force David Mellor.

The campaign will also be highlighted in the latest issue of the independent supporters' magazine United By Football, which is published next week.

Magazine editor Paul Windridge said: "The general consensus is that this needs to be changed, especially after the match at the Reebok Stadium.

"Just off the M61 at Bolton, supporters were confronted by a hand painted sign with three foot high yellow letters saying 'Munich 58'."

He added that some Wanderers fans spent the majority of the game chanting about Munich and doing aeroplane impersonations. He said: "It seems unlikely to think that Bolton's fans are going to respect any commemoration United have in mind. If such a commemoration of Hillsborough was abused in this way there would be a national outcry."

Mr Windridge is anxious to stress that fears about the fixture should not be seen as an insult to Bolton Wanderers' officials or the majority of Bolton fans.

But he added: "People really must not bury their heads in the sand on this one. It will not go away if it is ignored. The only way it can ever be sorted out is to discuss it sensibly."

However, Gary Parkinson said: "It is a very dangerous precedent to allow games to be switched for something like this.

"We are totally against the Munich chants and have made that clear many times in our fanzine. But we believe the best way to handle this is strong appeals to fans from the club and in the media.

"And the sophisticated stewarding and security system at Old Trafford should be able to eject anyone trying to spoil the commemorations by making offensive chants or songs."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.