Today brought out both the best and the worst of the English Premier League. Liverpool defied the odds to best reigning league champions Manchester City today, in a match-up of the two sides that have been, in recent years, far above the rest of the plane in the English topflight.
The quality of football that they have played since the late 2010s has been the best of what the EPL has to offer. What transpired in the away end at Anfield today- that’s the worst of what the league has to offer. Take a look:
Some of the disgusting graffiti left in the away end at Anfield today. #LFC pic.twitter.com/N5IhNNz2fR
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) October 16, 2022
The graffiti, which was accompanied by chanting in the away stands of the Anfield, was publicly condemned by Liverpool FC. The chants and graffiti refer to two stadium tragedies, in the 1985 and 1989 at matches where Liverpool was involved. Read more about that here.
A portion of the LFC statement reads: “:We are deeply disappointed to hear vile chants relating to football stadium tragedies from the away section during today’s game at Anfield. The concourse in the away section was also vandalised with graffiti of a similar nature.”
Deplorable.
Disgusting. https://t.co/KDYZA6unZZ— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) October 17, 2022
It obviously goes without saying that this kind of behaviour has no place in the game. It is disgusting and deplorable, but it somehow still persists.
In recent years we’ve seen Liverpool supporters taunt Manchester United fans with chants referencing the Munich Air Disaster of 1958.
And on the reverse side, United supporters have taunted Liverpool fans with references to the Hillsborough Disaster of 1989.
It’s abominable all around, and both clubs have publicly called out this kind of behavior. MUFC and LFC worked across rivalry lines to try and kick these disgusting practices out of the game.
Obviously, it is a lot easier said than done.
Manchester City has not released their club statement on this Anfield incident yet.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.