From the Steven Gerrard goal against Olympiakos to the comeback against Barcelona, Anfield has hosted some memorable European nights over the years. One such fixture was the 3-0 demolition of Manchester City in 2018, a night caveated by an incident involving the visiting bus. The reaction to a similar incident from West Ham v Liverpool has exposed the double standards applied to The Reds.
Way back in 2018 The Reds were steamrolling their way to another European final.
Jürgen Klopp’s side had just obliterated FC Porto and were set to face local rivals Manchester City in the quarter finals.
Before the game the two team coaches were greeted by Kopites, with projectiles hurled at the Citizens’ coach in an effort to intimidate the visitors.
It worked.
The Reds ran out 3-0 winners on the night. Inevitably, after the game there were cries from rival fans that Liverpool were a disgrace for the way they greeted the City coach.
The welcoming was debated for weeks. Kopites were thrust into the media spotlight and condemned by all and sundry.
At the end of January this year, The Reds visited the London Stadium. It is only in the last few days that we have seen widespread reporting that West Ham fans damaged the Liverpool coach after the game.
The Evening Standard have reported that West Ham are threatening to hand out lifetime bans to those found responsible.
The question is: why have The Hammers been given a free pass for this in the media?
If anything this is even more damnable than the way Liverpool fans acted. In this incident we have seen West Ham supporters go out of their way after the game to vandalise the bus following a bad result.
In 2018, Kopites were greeting both coaches and launched projectiles to create an atmosphere and intimidate.
Nobody was ever in any danger – if Reds fans were trying to hurt anybody they’d have thrown glass bottles when the players stepped off the bus. Instead they largely launched plastic at reinforced windows.
Whilst their methods can be debated, Kopites were trying to help their team.
This case with West Ham has been swept under the carpet despite it being far more malicious. The game had finished, it was just vandalism, no argument could be made that it was in an effort to boost their side’s chances.
So, why the double standards? Where is the widespread public outcry? The sweeping condemnation? Is that just reserved for Liverpool fans?
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