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Everton fans hoisted a banner over the Etihad during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Liverpool, branding the competition ‘corrupt’ after the club was given a 10-point deduction for breaching financial regulations.
Fan group The 1878s are among the supporters who led the vociferous protests over the Premier League weekend, and have raised more than £40,000 for a fight fund that will produce anti-league banners, placards and the plane message flown on Saturday afternoon.
A low-flying plane carrying a banner reading ‘Premier League = Corrupt’ was deployed during the showpiece match with their closest rivals after it was apparently decided it would be too dark to do so during Everton’s weekend match.
The Toffees play Manchester United at Goodison Park on Sunday, with kick-off at 4.30pm.
Mail Sport understands that the Premier League has no jurisdiction to stop these negative reports as the slogans are not officially endorsed by Everton – but Sky Sports have chosen not to broadcast footage of the protest.
Everton fans organized a banner hanging over the Etihad on Saturday calling the Premier League ‘corrupt’
The club was given a 10-point deduction last week after breaching financial rules
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The 1878s confirmed on Tuesday that thousands of ‘Premier League Corrupt’ leaflets would be printed and available for collection at various collection points around Goodison Park before the match on Sunday.
There will also be flags and banners in both Gwladys Street End and Park End. One will depict a defiant Sean Dyche with the slogan ‘Dogs of War’ and the other will read: ‘Where there is power, money and greed, there is corruption.’
On Friday evening, supporters staged a protest at the Premier League’s headquarters in London, during the first of their weekend of demonstrations.
Fans gathered outside the Premier League’s headquarters in London on Friday, sparking a weekend of demonstrations
Earlier in the day, Amnesty International sent a banner calling for the release of a human rights activist across the grounds of the Abu Dhabi-backed club
The 1878s shared their gratitude to their fellow fans in a statement highlighting the importance of being defiant on Sunday.
‘Thank you for all your contributions, the money will not only go towards the atmosphere on Sunday but also towards continued momentum at a critical time for Everton when we all need to be united and on the same page.
‘We will specify and publish every purchase so that our approach is clear and transparent. We’ve tried to deliver as much as possible that we think covers the thousands of diverse requests we’ve had.”
Earlier in the day, human rights organization Amnesty International hung a banner above the Etihad calling on the United Arab Emirates to release Ahmed Mansoor, a blogger and human rights activist who has been imprisoned and in solitary confinement since 2017.