Why Man City Fans Boo Anthems, Explained by Supporters Chief Nick Clarke

• Manchester City fans boo the Premier League and Champions League anthems before home games, and the noise grew louder against Ipswich last Saturday.
• Season-ticket holder Dave Wilson said the booing was heightened by City’s first home game after being found guilty of breaching the Premier League’s financial rules.
• Citizens Trust interim chair Nick Clarke called the anthem booing "totally organic" and said most fans think the league is "not fit for purpose in regulating itself".

Anger That Dates Back to the 115 Charges

The boos that greet the Premier League and Champions League anthems before kick-off have become a fixture at the Etihad Stadium. They grew louder against Ipswich last Saturday, City’s first home game after being found guilty of breaching the Premier League’s financial rules. Dave Wilson, a City season-ticket holder, told BBC Sport: "I can’t remember a Premier League or Champions League home game where the anthems haven’t been booed."

Booing was audible again before Tuesday’s Champions League game against AEK Athens.

The discontent can likely be traced to February 2023, when the 115 charges were first announced. Later that year Everton had 10 points deducted, cut to six on appeal. In their first game back after the sanction, Everton fans booed the league anthem at Goodison Park and held up red cards with the word "corrupt" printed underneath the Premier League logo. City supporters did not organise a similar display, but their anger was clear.

"The Premier League anthem has been booed by City fans for many years," Wilson said. He believes it was probably heightened last Saturday by the first home game after the guilty verdict was announced. "There hasn’t been much love lost between City and the Premier League for a long time," he said. "For certain games it will be louder than others, it definitely wasn’t co-ordinated for that [Ipswich] game but a symptom of everything coming together."

Years of Disputes With Uefa

City fans’ displeasure with Uefa goes back even further, with a long list of disputes with Europe’s governing body. In 2012, Porto were handed a fine of around £17,000 after City made a complaint to Uefa about racial abuse aimed at striker Mario Balotelli. In the same season City were fined around £24,000 for being one minute late back on to the pitch for the second half of a game against Sporting.

In 2014, Uefa fined City £49m and capped their squad size for the Champions League after they failed Financial Fair Play rules. Six years later the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned City’s two-year ban from European club competitions after clearing them of "disguising equity funds as sponsorship contributions". Uefa had initially ruled that City committed "serious breaches" of FFP regulations between 2012 and 2016.

Wilson said the history feeds a belief among supporters. "City fans generally feel there is a conspiracy against them, like the booing of the Uefa anthem too. There is a feeling of being targeted, rightly or wrongly." He added: "City fans just don’t seem to like the competitions we play in!"

Supporters Union Says the Booing Is Organic

Nick Clarke is interim chair of The Citizens Trust, the Manchester City supporters’ union. It is a member-led trust set up earlier this year at a time when the "potential biggest issue affecting City fans in the club’s history" had transpired. Clarke described it as a "difficult time" but said fans are "completely behind the team", and that his job is to make sure their views are heard amid the external noise.

"The booing of the anthem on Saturday was totally organic," Clarke said. He drew a line between that and the banana protest at Liverpool. "Whereas the bananas at Liverpool was a fan-led initiative co-ordinated by the 1894 atmosphere group and they did great work handing those out before the game."

Clarke said some fans are conflicted about what has happened with the club, but that a general feeling among the majority is that the Premier League is "not fit for purpose in regulating itself".

City and their supporters are in limbo as they await the outcome of the appeal and any potential sanctions. On the pitch, City are top of the table after winning all seven league games. That 100% record will face a stern examination with a difficult trip to Aston Villa on Saturday, kick-off 12:30 BST. Whatever the outcome of the appeal, City fans are likely to keep making their feelings clear before kick-off.

WRITTEN BY

Jarrod

Jarrod Partridge is the Founder of Futbol Chronicle and an accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every match report, player profile, and tactical analysis he writes.

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