Man City Fans Wave Inflatable Bananas at Anfield Amid Backlash

Hostility greeted Manchester City at Anfield as the club returned to Premier League action on Sunday, October 11, 2026, with Liverpool supporters protesting a financial ruling against City's ownership. In response, City fans waved hundreds of inflatable yellow bananas, reviving a tradition from the late 1980s while their team faced sustained boos from the home crowd.

According to Sports Yahoo, the match marked City's first Premier League appearance since an independent commission ruled that the club's Abu Dhabi owners had systematically breached financial regulations between 2009 and 2018. Manchester City has appealed the decision and maintains that it has irrefutable evidence supporting its position.

The commission found that City had inflated revenue by £900 million through disguised funding arrangements, according to the report. The findings intensified scrutiny of a club that has been a major rival of Liverpool over the past decade.

Before kickoff, City supporters applauded their players and raised oversized inflatable bananas. The display revived a late-1980s fan tradition associated with a difficult period in English football, when clubs were banned from European competition.

Supporters' group We Are 1984 promoted the initiative as a way to inject humor into the relationship between fans and football authorities. The group explained its motivation in a social media post published the previous week.

"The message – this fan base has always been on a rollercoaster," the group tweeted.

Outside Anfield, the response from Liverpool supporters was markedly different. According to Sports Yahoo, merchandise sellers offered flags and scarves depicting Manchester City players alongside accusations of guilt and cheating, while Liverpool fans gathered around the stadium approximately 90 minutes before the scheduled 4:30 p.m. kickoff.

Some supporters sang chants calling for City to be relegated and used abusive language to criticize the club. The atmosphere reflected lingering resentment among Liverpool fans, who saw their team finish second during the 2013-14 season.

Merseyside Police increased its presence around the stadium and deployed drones to help maintain order. Liverpool's team bus received a noisy welcome, while Manchester City's two coaches took an alternative, quieter route to avoid the crowds.

Inside the stadium, City players were booed when they came onto the pitch and whenever they touched the ball during the opening minutes, according to Sports Yahoo. Liverpool supporters also displayed a banner in one corner of Anfield accusing the club of having cheated an entire generation of fans.