Everton fans fly banner over Etihad protesting points sanction

A group of Everton supporters raised a banner above the Etihad Stadium to protest the club’s 10-point deduction for breaching financial rules during Manchester City’s Premier League match against Liverpool on Saturday.

The banner, organized by the 1878 supporters group, read “Premier League = corrupt” and was unfurled above the stadium in the second half of the match which ended in a 1-1 draw.

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On 17 November, Everton were stripped of 10 points by the Premier League for breaching the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) for the season ending 2021–22.

It is the biggest sanction in the history of the Premier League and sees the Merseyside club move from 14th to 19th in the table.

Everton said the sanction was “totally disproportionate and unfair” in a statement and manager Sean Dyche said everyone at the club was “shocked” by the enormity of the sanction.

The reason the protest banner was displayed above the Etihad Stadium is because no verdict has been reached on the 115 alleged financial breaches that champions Manchester City were accused of in February this year. year.

“The club will also follow with great interest the decisions taken in any other cases regarding the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules,” Everton said in its aforementioned statement.

The Everton banner was not the only demonstration at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. During the first half of the match, a banner demanding the release of a UAE activist was unfurled above the ground.

The banner, organized by Amnesty International, read “UAE: Free Ahmed Mansoor”.