Manchester City fans with bananas
Manchester City fans with bananas
It was always going to be a feisty affair at Anfield between Liverpool and Manchester City and visiting fans were just as up for the occasion as an angry Kop End.
A dark cloud is residing over City after the club were found guilty of serious breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations. There wasn't a more worthy opponent for their first game since the independent commission's findings were released than Andoni Iraola's Reds.
While the Kop booed City players as they made their way onto the pitch, the away end was seen producing their Poznan celebration while some waved inflatable bananas around. There's a good reason why those supporters headed to Anfield with the inflatables in hand.
Why Man City Fans Went Bananas at Anfield
Man City fans with bananas
Man City fans with bananas
City fans ordered large quantities of inflatable bananas for the clash with Liverpool in an attempt to revive a tradition that shows solidarity during a difficult time for the club. It's not the first time supporters have turned to inflatables to throw their support behind their team.
Its origins stemmed back to August 1987 when City fan Frank Newton is said to have taken a five-foot inflatable banana to Maine Road. His team faced Plymouth Argyle and Newton borrowed the blow-up fruit from a friend to try and lift the mood during a torrid period.
Former City striker and cult hero Imre Varadi also had a role to play in the craze gaining popularity. The Kippax Stand turned his surname into an 'Imre Banana' chant and supporters lapped it up by bringing more bananas to matches.
On Boxing Day in 1988, the inflatable movement peaked in popularity when more than 10,000 fans visited Stoke City's Victoria Ground with blow-up bananas. City players welcomed this and responded by running onto the pitch with the yellow fruit inflatables before kick-off.
Since then, it's become somewhat of a phenomenon and influenced mascots for rival clubs such as Stoke's Pink Panthers and Grimsby Town's Harry the Haddock. Inflatables took over English football, including green dinosaurs and giant hammers.
'Follow You Down to League Two' - Man City Fans' Chant
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak
We expected a hostile atmosphere and City fans were well-prepared to deal with the anger from the Kop. Many of them made clear they stood by their club's owners who have maintained their innocence throughout the case.
So much so, that supporters sang a new chant in pubs near to Anfield and one of them focused on chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak. In the song, the lyrics read:
Mubarak is front and centre of the biggest scandal in British sporting history but hasn't done much talking since the guilty verdicts were dropped. It's reported that he met with UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham just days before the independent commission's findings were made official and there has since been talk of financial relations between the UK and the United Arab Emirates being at stake.
Man City corner flag
Man City corner flag
Key Events Timeline
September 2026 — The Athletic reported City guilty of 114 of 115 Premier League financial charges.
October 2026 — City lodged their appeal, calling the commission's opinion unsafe and materially flawed.
October 2026 — Reports revealed Khaldoon Al Mubarak met a UK minister weeks before the verdict.
While Mr Mubarak wasn't in attendance for today's game, CEO Ferran Soriano attended Anfield along with other club officials. He's another high-ranking figure who has denied any wrongdoing and claims that the club have "irrefutable evidence" which has been used in their appeal.