The Liverpool captain has urged the club’s hierarchy to listen to the fans amid backlash from the rising ticket price announcement.
Virgil van Dijk urges club hierarchy to listen to fans over ticket price rise protests
The backlash following the announcement that ticket prices would rise from next season onwards is beginning to reach a boiling point.
The club announced last month its intention to raise the cost of tickets in line with inflation over the next three years.
The angry response was so severe from Liverpool fans that it pushed Liverpool CEO Bily Hogan to send an email out to every season ticket holder defending the club’s decision.
“Liverpool Football Club fully respects the right of supporters to protest, and we acknowledge those supporters who are opposed to this approach. But we would also ask one thing in the days and weeks ahead: that any protest, and any debate, is grounded in the facts – what is changing, why it is changing, and what it means in real terms.”
“Our matchday operating costs at Anfield have risen significantly in recent years – up 85% including Anfield Road (or 57% excluding Anfield Road) over the past decade, with utility costs up 107% over just the past four years and business rates up 286% in that same period. Over the last decade, we have increased ticket prices by just 4% to keep any rise in ticket prices to a minimum.”
“Against that backdrop, we believe linking any increases to inflation, confirmed as a 3% rise for the 2026/27 season, is the fairest and most transparent way to attempt to cover some of those uncontrollable costs.”
Regardless, planned protests went ahead over the weekend.
In Liverpool’s most recent Premier League outing against Fulham, the Kop was flag-less, a strange sight given that stand is normally laden with colour and emotion. This is a sight that will become a regular occurrence between now and the end of the season.
In a statement, they announced:
“After much consultation, all Spion Kop 1906 flags will no longer be present at Anfield at the remaining fixtures. We feel we have been left with no other option, year on year the rising costs are pricing more fans out of football. Fans are increasingly reaching their breaking point as football becomes unaffordable.”
“We must take a stand against the rising cost of football, we feel there’s a value to being valued. The culture and traditions, which have been passed down by previous generations must be preserved, with football remaining accessible to future generations.”
On top of a flagless Kop, supporters union Spirit of Shankly encouraged a ‘Not a pound in the ground’ drive, urging fans to not spend anything inside the stadium.
Virgil van Dijk has now waded in on the debate, urging the Liverpool hierarchy to not ignore the discontent being shown from fans of the club.
“I think the fans are the heart and soul of the club. If they feel like this then protest is their fair right. Hopefully they come to a solution with the club. These things are far above my position as captain of the club. But my opinion is that our fans are the club. They always have been – before my time and after my time. It’s important that these things get solved because it benefits no-one.”
Strong words from the captain of the club and it may well have an impact given an important figure within the team has spoken out in this way.
Football is the richest sport in the world and greed can often seep through the cracks.
It is important to remember who Liverpool Football Club are and that the fans are the heart and soul of the club and pricing them out of games is not the correct step forward.
Let’s see if the continued protests and now Virgil van Dijk’s words have any impact on the hierarchy of the club reversing or altering their decision.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk on the protests over ticket price increases: “I think the fans are the heart and soul of the club. If they feel like this then protest is their fair right. Hopefully they come to a solution with the club.
“These things are far above my position…
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) April 12, 2026