Crossword Genius

United supporters flipped, creating a big mess (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

snafu

'a big mess' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'united supporters flipped' is the wordplay.
'united' becomes 'U' (abbreviation).
'supporters' becomes 'fans' (fan is a kind of supporter).
'flipped' says the letters should be written backwards.
'u'+'fans'='ufans'
'ufans' back-to-front is 'SNAFU'.

'creating' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for snafu that I've seen before include "Bloomer" , "Chaos (US slang)" , "mess as usual" , "Mess table" , "Chaotic state, mess" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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