Liverpool have challenged Manchester City and the Premier League over a reduced ticket allocation for their fans ahead of their trip to the Etihad Stadium.
City will take on Liverpool on Saturday April 1st in a match they likely need to win if they want to keep their title hopes alive.
Arsenal currently sit eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table having played one game more than Pep Guardiola’s side. City have just 11 games to try and make up the difference.
Taking on Liverpool is never an easy proposition, even if Jurgen Klopp’s side have endured an underwhelming campaign.
The Reds will be confident of getting a result at the Etihad Stadium, although they will not have quite as big an away following as they normally do.
That’s because City restricted Liverpool’s ticket allocation to 2,382, 500 fewer tickets than they received when they played out a 2-2 draw with City last season.
Before the pandemic, Liverpool’s league allocation at the stadium was more than 3,000.
The restriction was agreed between City, Greater Manchester Police and the local ground safety advisory group after several incidents between the two sets of supporters overshadowed recent meetings.
A 15-year-old girl was injured when a cup – weighted with coins – was thrown from the away end during City’s Carabao Cup win against Liverpool at the Etihad in December.
Liverpool chief executive Billy Hogan personally apologised to the family for the incident.
After Liverpool defeated City at Anfield in October, City alleged that their team bus had been attacked and that coins were thrown at Pep Guardiola during the match.
Liverpool accused travelling City fans of singing songs about the Hillsborough disaster and of damaging facilities in the away end.
“Liverpool Football Club has been informed that its ticket allocation for the forthcoming Premier League fixture against Manchester City on April 1 at Etihad Stadium has been significantly reduced,” a Liverpool club statement issued on Wednesday read.
“LFC has been in contact with the Premier League and Manchester City to challenge this decision. The club is committed to having as many supporters as possible in stadiums for Premier League away fixtures.”
A satement from Liverpool fan group Spirit of Shankly read: “We acknowledge there have been issues involving both sets of supporters in recent seasons, but this course of action is counter-productive.
“We look for support from LFC and urge Manchester City and the relevant authorities to rethink and reverse their decision.”
