Everton to keep foodbank advert after ‘poverty chanting’

Everton will continue to advertise charitable food banks on their scoreboard at Goodison Park in response to “poverty chants” from visiting supporters during the 2-0 Premier League win over Chelsea on Sunday.

Insulting chants, including “Feed the Scousers” and “Sign On”, referring to a claim for unemployment benefit, have been hurled against Everton and Liverpool fans by opposition supporters for years, mocking them about unemployment in the region.

The message 'Fans support food banks' was flashed on the big screen inside the Merseyside club's stadium less than a minute into the Chelsea clash, just after the first wave of chants from visiting supporters.

“On several occasions during Sunday's match at Goodison Park, chants were heard from some of the Chelsea fans mocking the problem of food poverty in the city of Liverpool,” Everton said in a statement on Monday.

“When this was sung, the club – united in its stance – promoted the logo of supporters supporting food banks on the big screen inside the stadium.

“Fans supporting food banks and its must-have purple vehicle will be in the Goodison Park Fan Zone all season on match days.”

The initiative, founded jointly by Liverpool and Everton fans in 2015 to tackle the problem, has since been showcased at matchdays across Britain.

“Unfortunately, the use of food banks is necessary across the country, and Fans Supporting Foodbanks provide essential help to those who need it,” Everton added.

The club encouraged supporters to donate non-perishable food and dry goods to support the initiative on December 19, ahead of Everton's final home game before Christmas against Fulham.

“We always said there were 40,000 fans at Goodison and 50,000 at Anfield,” Dave Kelly, chairman of Fans Supporting Food Banks, told the club's website.

“If every fan turned up with just one tin, I can pretty much guarantee there wouldn’t be a child going to bed hungry on Merseyside that night.”