No Flags on the Kop: Liverpool Fans to Protest Price Hike vs. Atalanta

Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images

Liverpool supporter groups have agreed to remove all flags and banners for Thursday night’s Europa League tie in protest of ticket price increases.

There will be no flags or banners on the Kop for Thursday night’s Europa League quarter-final first leg against Atalanta as Liverpool supporters’ groups have come together to agree a protest over plans for a ticket price increase for the 2024-25 season.

The planned protest will then be carried forward though the weekend’s Premier League home game against Crystal Palace, with plans to have Hillsborough commemorative flags on the Kop for the game closest to the April 15th anniversary of the disaster but no other flags or banners.

That the protest will impact one of manager Jürgen Klopp’s final home games before departing the club in the summer—and even should they advance to the semi-final, the penultimate home European game—is highly unfortunate.

Supporters’ groups, though, see a club earning record revenues while the real world spending power of local fans has decreased, leading to a situation where fans are being asked to devote a larger portion of their income to provide the atmosphere that plays a significant role in driving other revenue streams.

“It’s the relationship between the team and the crowd,” Klopp said when asked not about the protest but the role supporters have played in his side’s stellar Anfield record. “If we give our all then the people are there to give us the decisive push. This is a good place to watch a football game.”