For both Reds and Blues, the build-up to Sunday’s crucial clash has been marred by pushback against planned price rises for supporters
00:01, 18 Apr 2026
Protesters display a banner against ticket price increases during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Fulham at Anfield (Image: ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP via Getty Images)
As Everton and Liverpool prepare to go to battle this weekend in the first Merseyside derby at the Blues’ new Hill Dickinson home, both clubs do so against a tricky backdrop of recently announced ticket price rises and the supporter unrest that those decisions have brought with them.
At the end of last month, Liverpool announced ticket prices would be rising in line with the Consumer Price Index for inflation over the next three years. This will see season ticket prices increase next season from between £21.50 and £27, while the cost of individual match tickets for those without season tickets will go up from between £1.25 and £1.75.
Additional increases will then follow in the subsequent two seasons.
A short-time after this, Everton announced their own season ticket prices. Most Blues fans will be hit with increases for the club’s second season in their new waterfront stadium. The maximum rise is capped at £85 and the average adult uplift will be around £45 – or £2.26 per game.
On the Red side of the city, the reaction has been a strong one – sparking protests and the removal of flags from The Kop at home games for the rest of the season.
LFC supporters’ union Spirit of Shankly has pledged to ‘grow and escalate’ these actions in a bid to force further dialogue with the club’s bosses.
Last week Reds’ CEO Billy Hogan issued a lengthy message to members and season ticket holders, outlining the club’s reasons for the planned increases.
He said: “No one at Liverpool Football Club takes decisions on ticket pricing lightly. We have a responsibility to run the club sustainably, and to do so with an ambitious vision: to compete for all major trophies, to win trophies, and to keep winning trophies.”
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s derby, Spirit of Shankly committee member and Liverpool Supporters Board chair Jay McKenna explained why the feeling on this issue is so strong for Reds’ fans.
A Liverpool fan sticker is seen outside the stadium in protest against the planned increase in ticket prices prior to the Premier League match against Fulham at Anfield on April 11 2026(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
He told the ECHO: “I know the club and the owners want the best for the club and its future, but we are asking, was there not an alternative? We’re not asking for the club to be massively loss making, we’re not asking you to drive the club into bankruptcy so we can all go for free. But you charge a significant sum already and what we are saying is, is there not an alternative we can look at to this?
“It should be a last resort to raise ticket prices and I think the fans look at this and think, well the club isn’t performing particularly well, but director pay is up, player wages are up, massive record transfer fees, record revenues and yet you still want more from us – and not just this year, but next year and the year after that.”
He added: “I’ve got season ticket, I’ve got a well-paying job and I can afford my ticket, which is a relatively good price. But I want to start taking my lad to Anfield and in 10-15 years when he is a young adult, what is he going to be paying? This isn’t just about the now, it is about the future.
“They could have said to us, our plan is to increase in alignment with inflation but we will sit down and talk with supporters – because locking this in for three years removes the ability of supporter groups to sit down and talk with them about it.
“The fans feel undervalued. Fans have turned around to us and said it is unacceptable. I think the club has misread the mood of fans at the moment. For them to say we’re not just putting them up next year but also the two years after that – I think that is the straw that has broken the camel’s back for a lot of fans.”
In his message to supporters, Billy Hogan said: “Our matchday operating costs at Anfield have risen significantly in recent years – up 85% including Anfield Road (or 57% excluding Anfield Road) over the past decade, with utility costs up 107% over just the past four years and business rates up 286% in that same period. Over the last decade, we have increased ticket prices by just 4% to keep any rise in ticket prices to a minimum.”
Mr Hogan said that it is against this backdrop that the club believes that linking any increases to inflation – confirmed as a 3% rise for next season – is the “fairest and most transparent” way to attempt to cover some of those uncontrollable costs.”
Sunday will see the first Merseyside derby at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium
In the Blue half of the city, there is also frustration at news of price increases.
Supporter organisation the Fan Advisory Board released a statement expressing its “deep disappointment” with the new fees after previously calling for a price freeze and the protection for concessionary pricing. While Everton have committed to retaining concessions, the club has announced increases that, for some supporters, will come close to 10%.
The Blues believe they have taken a fair approach to the new prices, stating no-one’s ticket will increase by more than £85 and that the average adult uplift will be £45. The prices of Under-11s season tickets and for adults in the family area have also been frozen.
On the wider issue of increases it is the club’s position that rises are a necessary part of Everton’s efforts to catch up with the turnover of Premier League rivals and that additional income will be committed towards strengthening the club on the pitch.
The club has pointed out that it remains mid-market in Premier League pricing and says that increased revenue is directly linked to improving football performance and part of a long-term strategy for sustainability and growth rather than a short-term decision.
But the FAB evidently does not see it this way. In a statement they said: “The decision suggests a preference for short term financial gain at the expense of loyalty. It fails to recognise the growing sentiment amongst supporters that our game is moving further and further away from its core values, identity and soul. It is a missed opportunity.”
The fan group said it remains committed to constructive dialogue with the club and will continue to advocate for decisions that protect “accessibility, loyalty and the strength of our traditional fanbase.”
Firstly though, there is the small matter of a crucial derby clash this weekend.