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Liverpool’s ticket allocation for April visit to Man City is REDUCED by 20% amid tension between Premier League rivals after a 15-year-old girl was ‘scarred for life’ by a glass full of coins thrown from the other end of the Etihad stadium.
Liverpool will have their ticket allocation reduced by 20 per cent when they travel to the Etihad Stadium to face fierce rivals Manchester City.
Sportsmail understands that, following numerous incidents of trouble which included a 15-year-old girl being left ‘scarred for life’, security officials decided to act ahead of the April 1 crash.
City have been told that Liverpool must be given 2,400 seats, a substantial drop from the 3,000 they would normally receive.
The move is not likely to go down well on Merseyside and may do little to defuse the growing tension between the two clubs.
While City declined to comment, they are believed to have no choice but to comply with the recommendations of the security advisory group, a group of officials including emergency services who issue the certificate allowing matches to be played.
Liverpool fans have seen their allowance reduced by 20 per cent for their trip to the Etihad Stadium
It comes after a 15-year-old girl was left ‘scarred for life’ after a full pint of coins was thrown from the Liverpool section at home fans in the Carabao Cup tie in December.
She was injured by a hard plastic cup filled with coins and liquid thrown from the other end.
That group has decided to act after in December’s Carabao Cup clash, the teenage City fan was struck by a pot loaded with coins that had been thrown from the away area.
A heartbreaking image of the girl’s bloodstained blue and white scarf later surfaced on social media in what was the latest in a series of incidents at games between the two clubs amid mounting toxicity.
Last month, this newspaper revealed that City were considering bringing in a net to surround away fans at the Etihad on a case-by-case basis. That network will not be available for next month’s clash, but remains under consideration.
Still, reducing the visitor allocation by 600 is a significant act and one that highlights the problems between the two clubs that went head-to-head in title races in three of the previous four seasons.
Looking ahead to the Carabao Cup match, both clubs called for calm. However, in a security group meeting after the encounter, it was revealed that more than 50 reports of missiles launched from the other end were made.
A 53-year-old man, believed to be a City fan, has been hospitalized after being assaulted off the pitch while disabled Liverpool fans have been racially abused and one man has been arrested.
There have been an increasing number of incidents involving fans at Liverpool vs Man City games.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp (left) and his City counterpart Pep Guardiola (right)
Pep Guardiola claimed he was targeted for coins when City lost at Anfield in October, and City said his team bus was also attacked, with damage to the windscreen shown above (right).
City fans were accused of vandalizing visiting Anfield winger and singing Hillsborough chants
Previous matches have also faced problems. In 2018, Merseyside Police failed to make a single arrest after the City manager was hit by bottles, bricks and flares ahead of the Champions League quarter-final.
In 2021, the City bench complained about being spat on during a game at Anfield while, in the last clash on Merseyside in October last year, City manager Pep Guardiola complained about being thrown coins .