Manchester City supporters have asked rivals United to reconsider plans for a minute's silence at next month's derby at Old Trafford to mark the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster.

Kevin Parker, secretary of the official Manchester City Supporters Club, said they had emailed United and the Premier League seeking a minute's applause instead for fear of disrespect from visiting fans.

"We just think as a supporters' organisation that if you go for a minute's silence you are taking a risk," he told Reuters.

"So we have now decided to write to Manchester United and copied in the Premier League and just asked them to reconsider their decision.

"This is an opportunity where Manchester City and Manchester United can almost come together as one but the minute's silence may jeopardise all of that completely."

Parker said there had so far been no response from United. City, who play United on Feb. 10, have urged their fans to respect and support the ceremonies planned to take place on the pitch before kickoff.

Both sides will also wear special kit for the day stripped of sponsors' branding.

The disaster, on Feb. 6 1958, occurred when the plane carrying the United squad back from a European Cup match in Belgrade crashed on takeoff after a refuelling stop in Munich.

Eight of Sir Matt Busby's exciting young team, dubbed the 'Busby Babes', died as did 15 others including Man City's former England goalkeeper Frank Swift who had been covering the match as a reporter.

City and United are bitter rivals and British newspapers reported that some City fans had already been heard chanting "We're all going to the golden jubilee" in reference to the commemoration.

"I'm not aware of those chants," said Parker. "So it (the email) has not been triggered by that. It's just been triggered by a general concern.

"I was at a Manchester United v Man City about three years ago after the death of (former United and Ireland captain) Noel Cantwell and United held a minute's silence then and that was broken after 35 seconds by a Manchester City fan," he added.

"That is just an indication of what may happen this time around as well.

"Manchester City as a football club have worked hard over recent seasons to try and remove where they can any reference to songs to do with Munich. But there are idiots out there unfortunately who are singing those songs," said Parker.

"Most of the time these songs are being sung by City fans who are in their late teens and early 20s who probably don't have any real understanding of what the Munich air disaster was all about."

Reuters