How Liverpool fans’ furious protests sent a loud and clear message to its owners during their win over Fulham with The Kop looking ‘naked’ and why Virgil van Dijk is pleading for a resolution, writes LEWIS STEELE

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has called on the Anfield hierarchy to find a solution with fans who are the ‘heart and soul’ of the club over protests about ticket prices.

The Kop looked naked without flags and banners during the 2-0 win over Fulham as supporters wanted to send a message to American owners Fenway Sports Group and club bosses who recently hiked ticket prices in a planned three-year rise.

And Van Dijk reckons the club should listen to hard-working fans. ‘I think the fans are the heart and soul of the club,’ said the skipper. ‘If they feel like this then protest is their fair right.

‘Hopefully they come to a solution with the club. These things are far above my position as captain of the club.

‘But my opinion is that our fans are the club. They always have been — before my time and after my time. It’s important that these things get solved because it benefits no-one.’

So what does it all mean — and will they listen?

The message was clear and should resonate on both sides of the Atlantic. ‘Listen to us, John,’ read leaflets handed out in their thousands, directed at principal owner John W Henry. ‘No to multi-year price rises. Do not kill the Kop.’

If that was not enough, the chants to back it up were loud. ‘You greedy b*******, enough is enough,’ they chanted. ‘Shove your prices up your ****’.

Then there were the less obvious signs. No queues for the bar with usually overworked tea-bar staff now twiddling their thumbs.

Not as if everyone had decided they were on a health kick and avoiding the pies and pints but because they did not want to give any more money to the club.

‘No pound in the ground’ was the slogan coined by supporter group Spirit of Shankly, while Spion Kop 1906 will withdraw flags behind the goal, making an exception for the annual Hillsborough anniversary commemorations on Tuesday.

Fans are furious at the owners, Fenway Sports Group led by Henry and Co. Chief executive Billy Hogan, who sent an email to all season-ticket holders and members on Friday, was present at Anfield and spotted having a pre-match pitchside natter with head coach Arne Slot.

Daily Mail Sport did a lap of the stadium at 4.30pm on Saturday, an hour before kick-off, to witness what were peaceful but important protests against ticket price hikes.

Fans were instead being encouraged to donate to local foodbanks or buy their lunch from local independent outlets like Homebaked or Georgie Porgy Cafe. In return for a donation, volunteers at the foodbank truck would return a flier with Henry’s face on it.

Just round the corner, there were the usual sellers of the Red All Over The Land independent fanzine, whose latest issue has a picture of Henry mocked up next to a Liverpool fan wearing a t-shirt with the word ‘SKINT’ on it.

‘We just want your money, we don’t care what you think,’ was the headline next to the owner. ‘Issue 322… still only £2’. They were also warning fans: this is not an official programme, the money does not go to the club.

At FSG’s baseball team, the Boston Red Sox, chants were heard on Monday of ‘sell the team’. Henry was in attendance.

At Anfield, tickets will rise by an average of £1.50 per game, season tickets will go up by between £21.50 to £27 – and while those might not be attention-grabbing numbers, it is the principle that irks supporters. It is the idea that loyalty is being exploited.

This is not a problem limited to Liverpool but protests by any fanbase should be appreciated by rival supporters’ groups around the country. At Anfield in recent years, fans have held banners across the home-away divide to send messages to the big-wigs running English football.

It is estimated that the average fan spends £74 per matchday at Anfield and the increases should net the club an extra £2m next season. Maybe not Liverpool, but some clubs prefer tourists – who spend big in the shops – rather than loyal fans who turn up just before kick-off.

By the start of 2028-29, tickets will have risen in five of the six previous seasons and it comes against the backdrop that recent accounts showed the club made £120m in ticket revenue last year – a 27 per cent year-on-year rise owing to the Anfield Road Stand expansion.

The club points to Anfield’s expanded capacity and nationwide energy prices making matchday operating costs higher. They also say other clubs have raised prices while Liverpool have sat firm in recent years and the changes are only in line with inflation.

They believe limiting ticket price changes to inflation is the fairest model, and the multi-year element provides certainty over a number of years for supporters, and encourage other clubs to consider adopting a similar approach moving forward.

Club decision-makers also point to data from domestic rivals. In the last decade, Manchester City have hiked prices by 25 per cent, Arsenal 19, Chelsea 17, Manchester United 16 and Tottenham eight. Liverpool’s tickets have gone up by four per cent.

But supporters disagree with the club’s rationale based on the fact that tickets were priced at £4 on the Kop in 1990. If they had risen with inflation, they would now be £10.20. Instead, the average for next season is £40.25, 294 per cent higher.

A Spirit of Shankly statement this week said: ‘This isn’t just about price. It’s about direction. It’s about what kind of football club Liverpool chooses to be. One rooted in its people, or one that sees them as a revenue stream to be pushed year after year.

‘Future supporters will live with the consequences of what happens now.’

Stickers handed out before the game also played on a modern motto of the club ‘this means more’. Instead, the text read: ‘This costs more’.

Saturday’s protests are understood to just be phase one of planned action and CEO Hogan, sitting in the posh seats just above the press box, will have been grimacing when listening to chants that were impossible to ignore. The message was loud and clear.

The issue also comes at an awkward time when on-pitch performances have led to a growing number of fans feeling disillusioned.

Last week, in an articulate, fair and informative debate, John Gibbons of the Anfield Wrap Podcast – a media empire in itself – called out some first-team players for being out of touch with reality.

‘The worst thing you can be accused of in this city is being too big for your boots – that’s the worst thing,’ he said.

‘They’re good players, but they’re not as good as they think they are. You know, they’re not going to get in these top 10s and stuff like that.

‘They’ve got it all to prove and they need to do it, but in this city we value hard work.’

It is a message the players have listened to this week. Regardless of what fans think, they are putting the same amount of effort into this disappointing season as they did last year when they were all held up as heroes.

But it is hard to escape the fact that protests are arguably ramped up by the fact there is seen to be a disconnect between players and fan base. Curtis Jones is the only Scouser who is a first-team regular and even he has struggled for consistent starts this season.

Aside from prices, no Liverpool fan is entitled to anything on the pitch. They are a knowledgeable bunch who appreciate effort and the sort of underdog stories that typify this working-class city. Likewise, it is fair for them to criticise Slot and his under-par team this year.

Back to the pressing issue of ticket prices, supporters’ groups will continue to fight the fight with admirable work, not letting the club go unaccountable and the likes of Spirit of Shankly certainly will not go down without making the hierarchy at least question their decisions.

Right now, though, the club needs their loyal and loud fans more than ever. Tuesday’s return leg against Paris Saint-Germain sees them needing to overturn a two-goal deficit to stay in the Champions League and save their season.

Whether it ends a famous night like when they toppled Barcelona in 2019 or not, the players, coaches and the top brass upstairs will all be served a reminder – if they needed one – that this club, or in fact any club, is nothing without the fans.

As Van Dijk said, they are the heart and soul of this community. Without their backing, Liverpool Football Club does not exist. The lifeblood of the club must not be taken for granted or exploited.