Liverpool fan group to remove all flags from Kop in protest against Super League
The Liverpool supporters’ group responsible for the Kop's banners and flags will protest the announcement of the controversial Super League by leaving the iconic stand bare for Saturday's home game against Newcastle.
Sunday night's shock news of plans for a European Super League featuring all of the Premier League's so-called 'Big Six' sent shockwaves around the world.
The proposals were met with threats and legal challenges from the likes of the Premier League, La Liga and UEFA, while the public reaction has been widely critical of what is perceived as a money-grab which takes football further away from the fans and true sporting merit.
We, along with other groups involved in flags, will be removing our flags from The Kop. We feel we can no longer give our support to a club which puts financial greed above integrity of the game.
— Spion Kop 1906 (@SpionKop1906) April 19, 2021
Supporters groups from all six Premier League sides involved released damning statements on the announcement, with Liverpool's Spirit of Shankly group calling the move a "relentless & greedy pursuit of money."
Meanwhile, Spion Kop 1906, the group which organises banners for the Kop at Anfield, has asked the club to remove all flags from the stand ahead of the next Premier League home game on Saturday 24 April.
It means the stadium will have an empty look for the clash with Newcastle and beyond.
#Embarrassing as fan representatives we are appalled & completely oppose this decision. FSG have ignored fans in their relentless & greedy pursuit of money. Football is ours not theirs. Our football club is ours not theirs. We will respond fully to this statement in due course. https://t.co/vFsykEm1Qz
— Spirit of Shankly (@spiritofshankly) April 18, 2021
In a statement on Twitter, Spion Kop 1906 wrote: "We, along with other groups involved in flags, will be removing our flags from The Kop. We feel we can no longer give our support to a club which puts financial greed above integrity of the game."
A Spion Kop 1906 spokesman told The Athletic: “We’ve been in contact with the club today to make it clear we want all the banners and the flags all taken down as soon as possible. We’re taking our support off the table from now.
“It’s disgraceful and absolutely disgusting what the owners have done. We don’t know how it’s got this far without fans being consulted.
"They have sold their soul. No Liverpool fan could get on board with this Super League. It would be good to hear the manager and the players come out and back the fans on this.”
Liverpool take on Leeds at Elland Road on Monday night in a match that is likely to be overshadowed by the surrounding events.
Whether Jurgen Klopp or any of the Liverpool players will comment directly on the latest news and its ramifications is unknown, though the Reds manager famously went on record as being against the notion of a Super League as recently as 2019.