Liverpool supporters continued their protest over their club’s price rises in their recent 3-1 home victory over Crystal Palace at Anfield. Prior to kick-off and in the 13th minute of the game, fans held up yellow cards and chanted about planned price increases at Anfield.
General admission tickets to rise annually for three seasons
The club recently announced that it would be raising the general admission ticket price at Anfield annually for the next three seasons, which was not well received by the club’s supporters.
Liverpool’s reasons for the price hike are operating costs and inflation, which they claim have gone up by 85 per cent. It seems fans are not convinced by the club’s excuses.
The news has unsurprisingly not gone down well with not just the fans, but also the clubs’ fan groups, Spirit of Shankly and Spion Kop 1906, who were responsible for organising the protest at the Palace game.
This was not the first protest over the club’s controversial announcement, as fans also displayed a banner at Anfield ahead of their Premier League clash with Fulham on 11th April.
As another form of protest, some fans have committed to not using the concession stands at Anfield. However, the stands remain popular among the club’s supporters for their convenience.
Club’s owners coming under scrutiny
Not for the first time, Liverpool’s owners, FSG, are coming under fire for the decision. The yellow cards held up during the protest featured FSG owner John Henry’s face and the words ‘Caution. ANFIELD SOUL AT RISK’.
The Reds’ owner has received criticism from supporters in the past over various issues, including a lack of transfer spending.
There has been a call for FSG to sell the club from fans, despite the Reds being crowned Premier League champions on two occasions during the current owners’ reign.
There had been interest from elsewhere in buying the Merseyside club, but for now, FSG are the Reds’ owners and will make the big decisions, including the club’s ticket policy.