Manchester City: bananas at Anfield, here's why

11.10.26 FT English Premier League

Liverpool

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Manchester City

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On Sunday afternoon, hundreds of Manchester City supporters who were present in the away section at Anfield during the clash against Liverpool (3-0) in the Premier League inflated giant bananas in the stands. We now know why.

This gesture directly refers to the 114 financial breaches of the Premier League regulations, for which Manchester City was found guilty by an independent commission. This has created considerable uncertainty over the club's short-term future. Yesterday, Manchester City fans therefore brought out the inflatable bananas again in tribute to a tradition that began in the late 1980s.

The story behind the inflatable bananas

As a reminder, at a time when English football was suffering from violence in stadiums and a gloomy atmosphere, supporters adopted childish humour and inflatable bananas as a form of self-deprecation in response to their team's sporting struggles, after it was relegated to the Second Division in 1987. At the time, the inflatable banana became firmly established in the stands in Manchester and earned Imre Varadi his nickname: "Imre Banana".

Forty years later, this tradition remains a Manchester City trademark whenever the club is going through periods of uncertainty.

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Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.

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