The image may surprise you. But Manchester City supporters have been accustomed to it for several years. This Wednesday evening, before the start of the quarter-final return between the Citizens and Real Madrid, Mancunian fans whistled the Champions League anthem. A habit that they have adopted for more than ten years following differences with UEFA.
The first episode dates back to the 2011-2012 season. Then star striker of the English team, Mario Balotelli was the target of racist cries from Porto supporters during a Europa League match. Despite the seriousness of the facts, the Portuguese club was only fined 20,000 euros, a sum considered ridiculous by the Citizens. They notably compared this amount with the 30,000 euros fine which had been imposed on them for a minute late at the start of the second half.
Two years later, it was financial fair play that disrupted Manchester City. While the leaders of the Mancunian club were lining up their tickets to afford a team that matched their ambitions, UEFA fined them 49 million pounds. When a few weeks later, following the closed session imposed by UEFA for the CSKA Moscow-Manchester City match, the Skyblues supporters had not been reimbursed despite expenses incurred to attend the match, the boos arose. were intensified.
In 2020, act III. Still spending as much on the transfer market, the English club was banned from European competitions for the following two seasons. Even though the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned this sanction, it was not to the liking of fans, who felt that UEFA was continually targeting their team. Even though Pep Guardiola asked fans to stop whistling the Champions League anthem, they continue, and don’t seem to be stopping any time soon.
