Protest sent 'incredibly strong message'

Gareth Roberts from The Spirit of Shankly supporters' union believes Saturday's ticket price protest sent "an incredibly strong message" to the Liverpool board and wider football clubs.

Fans have become increasingly frustrated with plans to increase ticket prices across each of the next three seasons.

Supporters held up yellow cards in the 13th minute of Liverpool's fixture with Crystal Palace at Anfield on Saturday that said 'Caution, Anfield's soul at risk' on them.

It is a move that has been orchestrated by Spirit of Shankly.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club, Roberts said he hopes it won't take people voting with their feet for the club to go back on their plans.

"Spirit of Shankly and other supporter groups are very much open to Liverpool coming back to the table because none of us want to be doing this," he said. "I'd much rather be having a pint with my mates before going in to watch Liverpool but instead I'm spending hours giving out yellow cards.

"In terms of what it might take, 10 years ago there were 10,000 of us that walked out of the ground at the prospect of £77 tickets at Anfield. They subsequently did a u-turn on that idea and we've never had £77 general admission tickets since.

"The majority of Anfield held up the cards - including Palace fans - so that sends an incredibly strong message that lots of people are concerned about the direction it's going in.

"And other clubs should be because if Liverpool get away with putting these prices up then you know that other clubs will follow suit."

Watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer and listen on BBC Sounds