The return of domestic football is so nearly upon us and ahead of Liverpool’s first game against Manchester City, both clubs have sent a joint statement to all supporters that are attending the game, in a warning over possible behaviour.
An excerpt of the letter reads: ‘The passion and enthusiasm that we see from our fans when we play each other – at the Etihad Stadium or Anfield – is part of what makes matches between our clubs so special, and we know you are committed to creating a stadium environment where everyone is welcomed, accepted and has a fantastic matchday experience.
‘Regrettably, based on recent meetings between our clubs, we also know that a minority of fans are responsible for behaviours and actions that have no place in our game’.
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Many of our supporters will point towards the abhorrent references to the Hillsborough disaster by the away supporters during our last meeting at Anfield and question what exactly our fans have done to warrant this.
Due to the growing rivalry in the past years between both sides, there have been matches of huge importance and that has boiled over into poor behaviour.
We can’t ignore the infamous bottle of Kopparberg that was thrown at the Manchester coach before the meeting during the Champions League in 2018 and so there is blame on both sides of this.
Rather than it becoming a battle of who has done worse and who is more to blame, the right way to tackle these issues is with a joint statement and let’s hope it brings this stupidity to an end.
We would love to see football rivalry not result in violence, anti-social behaviour and singing about the tragic deaths of supporters and let’s hope that this meeting of the two clubs can help ensure this happens.
You can read the full letter here:
‘We write to you today on behalf of both Manchester City FC and Liverpool FC, ahead of our Carabao Cup match at the Etihad Stadium later this week.
‘As with any meeting between our clubs, it promises to be a fantastic spectacle of football and we are sure that you are all counting down to kick-off with much anticipation following the break in domestic football for the World Cup.
‘The passion and enthusiasm that we see from our fans when we play each other – at the Etihad Stadium or Anfield – is part of what makes matches between our clubs so special, and we know you are committed to creating a stadium environment where everyone is welcomed, accepted and has a fantastic matchday experience.
‘Regrettably, based on recent meetings between our clubs, we also know that a minority of fans are responsible for behaviours and actions that have no place in our game.
‘We are therefore writing to ask for your full support in tackling these behaviours and to ensure that both of our Clubs’ good names are preserved. You can help us by reporting any incidents via the options at the bottom of this email so they can be investigated.
‘We appreciate that some fans may not be aware of the impact of their behaviours on other fans, both inside and outside the stadium, and we will continue to work with our fans on this education.
‘It is however important for everyone to be aware that we are fully committed to dealing with unacceptable behaviours and will take action by issuing bans to those found to be responsible.
‘We have engaged the Chairs from both our respective fan groups in our discussions and have their full backing to help create the right environment for our matches.
‘If we all stand together to report the behaviours and actions that cause harm – including inappropriate gestures, chanting, throwing of objects, as well as any and all forms of discrimination – then we can all concentrate on supporting our teams.
‘Thank you for taking the time to read this email, and for your commitment to help eliminate unacceptable behaviours in football.
‘We hope you enjoy the match’.