Liverpool FC owners Fenway Sports Group have made a huge U-turn over a recent increase in ticket prices at Anfield, even going as far as to offer an apology to fans for proposed price hikes.
Responding quickly to strong fan protests that have occured over the past week, John W Henry and co have taken the decision to freeze the highest costing match and season ticket respectively, with the most expensive match ticket remaining at £59, instead of the proposed £77.
Fan movement the catalyst for FSG's decision
The expected new prise of £77 seemed to be the final straw for many Reds fans, who staged a protest by walking out of Anfield during last Saturday's league game against Sunderland. With Jürgen Klopp's men 2-0 up as the clock ticked past 77 minutes, an estimated 10,000 people filtered out of the ground, with Liverpool going on to let their lead slip and draw 2-2, something which may have been a blessing in disguise given the significance of it all.
You'll Never Walk Alone was sung early, before fans left the stadium signing "enough is enough", whilst labelling FSG as greedy. It's hardly surprising therefore, that in a statement released on the club website, the owners included; "The three of us [Henry, Werner, Gordon] have been particularly troubled by the perception that we don’t care about our supporters, that we are greedy, and that we are attempting to extract personal profits at the club’s expense. Quite the opposite is true."
Message recieved
The American's attempt to be intending to prove as much, with the latest news. They added "message recieved" at the end of their statement, and it looks like the fans have won.
In addition to the price freezes, they've scrapped game categorisation, meaning that fans will pay the same price regardless of opposition. This is in particular good news for those who were planning on buying £9 tickets, with 10,000 of those now being available across the season, rather than just a couple of hundred for three matches.
The pricing of tickets will be readjusted to result in zero revenue growth, with FSG keen to stress that they have "never taken a penny out of the club".
Finally, there was an apology for Liverpool fans, many of whom will have had to face telling their children that they can no longer afford a season ticket over the past week. "On behalf of everyone at Fenway Sports Group and Liverpool Football Club, we would like to apologise for the distress caused by our ticket pricing plan for the 2016-17 season" the statement read.