Liverpool take on Atalanta in the quarter-finals of the Europa League on Thursday night, but Anfield and the Kop will be lacking a certain European night flavour

It isn’t just in front of goal at Old Trafford where Liverpool’s decision making is questionable.

But while, as frustrated as they would have been on Sunday, Reds fans can forgive Mo Salah, Darwin Nunez and co for their lack of composure in Manchester, there are many who are not as understanding when it comes to the decisions made by those above them at the club.

Anfield will lack an element of its usual European night fervour when Atalanta come calling in the Europa League quarter-final first leg on Thursday night, with no flags being flown on the Kop in protest against the club’s decision to raise ticket prices for next season by two per cent.

The move – organised by supporters’ union Spirit of Shankly and fan group Spion Kop 1906, who organise displays on the Kop – comes at a strange time for Liverpool, who have seven more Premier League games and potentially five Europa League matches left with Jurgen Klopp, and then fans will be cast into the unknown.

Because the biggest achievement of Klopp’s eight-and-a-half year Anfield reign isn’t the trophies he’s won, but more the sense of togetherness he has fostered at the club. That is what has led to those successes, and what has reminded Liverpool of what they were always capable of being if only someone could harness their power. And how Klopp has done that.

There will be no flags on the Kop on Thursday night (
Image:
PETER POWELL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
All of which makes the protest feel as though it belongs in a different era. The Kop move is the most significant show of discontent at Anfield since fans staged a walkout in the 77th minute of a match against Sunderland in February 2016 over a new ticket pricing structure which included tickets priced at £77. The Reds were 2-0 up at the time, and drew 2-2.

This was four months into Klopp’s reign but the Liverpool manager wasn’t at the game having just had surgery to remove his appendix, and that only added to the sense of this being separate from him. Liverpool fans have voiced their anger at Fenway Sports Group before of course, over issues like the European Super League and the furlough scheme during the pandemic, but to do so to this extent for a game feels quite alien under this manager.

Liverpool fans protested against ticket prices in 2016 (
Image:
PA)
Klopp, as you’d expect, spoke well on the subject at his press conference ahead of the game, saying: “As long as the people are there, it’s all good.

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“I understand the concerns and the discussion. We want to have the people in the stadium and we want to make it available for everybody. We are a self-sustaining club – every pound we make goes back into the football club. I understand 100 per cent where the supporters are coming from and I am sure they will find a solution.

Jurgen Klopp spoke about the plans on Wednesday (
Image:
Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
“What we should make sure is that nothing gets between us and the supporters. In between the two big whistles, we just have to be Liverpool – that’s what I’m asking for. It would be worse if only the flags would be in the stands and nobody else. They will find a solution for sure.”

Klopp’s tone and sensitivity on such issues is just another reason why he’s going to be so hard to replace, and highlights the difficulties the Reds could face once he’s gone.

That is what makes the club’s decision, one they say they have to take to deal with rising operating costs, so risky. In many ways Klopp was the glue bonding together all elements of the club and keeping it focused on a shared goal, but suddenly different bodies are tugging at the seams just as he’s leaving.

In Liverpool’s defence they aren’t the only club who are doing this, and in fact in the Premier League they all are. We all know that life is getting more expensive with each passing week, and football clubs aren’t immune to that. The two per cent rise is, as the club wanted to make clear when they announced it, the lowest increase seen so far from a Premier League outfit, with Manchester City’s at five per cent for comparison.

Liverpool’s fans know that eyes are often on them when it comes to such matters though, and they can set examples for others. Shortly after the £77 ticket protest Reds supporters’ groups played a vital role in the £30 cap being put on away tickets in the top-flight, for example.

FSG’s decisions have often faced scrutiny from Liverpool fans (
Image:
PA)

The question for Liverpool though has to be: is it really worth it? The rises are expected to make the club around £1million, or around three weeks’ worth of Salah’s wages. Is there a need to squeeze that out of the pockets of supporters who already pay so much? And at this time of all times too, just as Klopp is entering the final lap of the farewell tour and there is a Premier League title to be won.

A Spirit of Shankly spokesperson, when contacted by Mirror Football, said: “SOS and Spion Kop 1906, as indeed many other supporter groups, have long said ticket prices should be reduced. That they’re going up when there is so much wealth in football is wrong.

“For us, we didn’t think LFC needed to do this, and we told them that. We’re all disappointed they did it, and disappointed that they did it without meaningful consultation with us or the supporters board.

“Given there is so much optimism and hope for this season, and one very important goodbye, we wanted all the attention to be on that – how we achieve all we can from this season, and how we give the manager a send off he deserves no matter what happens.

The Kop will look quite different on Thursday night (
Image:
EMPICS Sport)
“No-one should be distracted by this, but we can’t just ignore price increases when things are going well, because that would not be thinking about the long term. We need to be allowed to give the support needed now, and then fix the long term questions when we evidently need to in the summer. That is what should have happened in our view.

“Supporters don’t want to be taking this action but they feel they’re left with little choice. We’ve made our position clear on pricing over the years, last year when they increased, this year when they informed us recently they would do it again and we opposed it, with a public statement and with a banner outside Old Trafford on Sunday.

“This is the next natural step to show the anger and disappointment. The players will still be getting supported throughout the 90 minutes. Spion Kop 1906 have outlined the steps for this game and the next, given it’s proximity to the Hillsborough Anniversary. We will see what happens from that and hope the club considers this and responds to supporter concerns and disappointment.”

The move is one that fans aren’t taking lightly then, and just as one era comes to an end at Anfield, it is highlighting the difficulties that could arise in a new one. Klopp has been a master at keeping Liverpool together, and the club are testing their new reality without him before he’s even left.