Liverpool fans urged to support Anfield walkout in ticket price protest

Liverpool could suffer the embarrassment of a mass exodus on Saturday with supporters’ groups calling on fans to leave their seats during the Premier League match against Sunderland at Anfield to protest a rise in ticket prices.

Some supporters are angry at the club after it was revealed the most expensive tickets in the new Main Stand will cost £77 next season.

Fans of the club called the revised structure “morally unjustifiable” which would see the price of some match day tickets rise to £77, while season tickets could increase to over £1,000.

But disgruntled supporters have dismissed that as misleading, with a statement from the Spion Kop 1906 group reading: “Liverpool think it is acceptable to make more money than ever before from supporters”. The most expensive season ticket will cost £1,029.

Ian Ayre, Liverpool’s chief executive, said it was impossible to please everyone.

Following the hugely unpopular decision to raise ticket prices at Anfield, Liverpool’s owners appear to have scored another considerable PR own goal.

The significance of the 77th minute is that the top-priced ticket in the newly reconstructed main stand has been set at £77, up from £59. Comparisons have in particular been made to the German clubs, fans pointing to Bayern Munich’s desire to keep ticket prices down and that Dortmund’s most loyal support pays €16-20.

Yet several prominent supporters groups, who were brought in to consult on the process, are not pleased with the end result. “We believe the decision making here has come from Boston [where the Fenway Sports Group is based]”.

To make things worse, Liverpool’s owners, FSG, scored a PR own-goal on its website, where it boasted about “transforming fans into customers”.

He stressed that the new ticketing structure meant more tickets would be available for local youngsters and added: “We recognise the incredible importance of ticket pricing to our matchgoing fans, and we take the responsibility very seriously”.