A band of Singapore superheroes created to help fight Covid-19 has been shelved after internet users criticized the campaign as too light-hearted and for mocking Liverpool Football Club.

The Virus Vanguard featured comic-book characters including Dr Disinfector, Fake News Buster and Must Always Walk Alone (MAWA) Man - a jibe referring to the English Premier League side's anthem You'll Never Walk Alone.

The initiative devised by the government and local artists aimed to encourage people to follow anti-virus rules, but social media quickly lit up with mockery and anger.

That led to a government announcement on Facebook that the campaign was on hold, and a picture of the characters disappeared and was replaced by silhouettes.

"We have received quite a lot of feedback on the characters and we will be reviewing them," the post said. "We are sorry if we offended anyone."

One user described the band as "too light-hearted and frivolous" while another thought the characters "offensive."

The band first appeared on Monday.

Fake News Buster, who local news website CNA said "wields the Mallet of Truth," came in for mockery.

But there was particular anger at MAWA Man, who was described in media as a fanatical Manchester United fan who enforced social distancing using special powers to repel objects and people.

Supporters of Liverpool in Singapore, where Premier League football is hugely popular, set up an online petition calling for MAWA Man to be removed from the campaign, and that garnered hundreds of signatures.

Mas Shafreen, the artist who created the characters, apologized if the characters appeared "insensitive" and admitted he was a Manchester United fan.

Red card for Singapore's concept of superheroes