Manchester City supporters have been urged to make their unique response to Liverpool fans a recurring tradition, not a one-off. The call comes after inflatable bananas made a notable return at Anfield last weekend, prompting head coach Enzo Maresca to express hope for a repeat at the Etihad Stadium this Saturday.
Bananas reappear at Anfield
Last weekend, City travelled to Liverpool for their first match since an independent commission found them guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period between 2009/10 and 2018/19. City deny any wrongdoing and have launched an appeal, but serious sanctions are likely if that fails.
As expected, the City players faced a hostile atmosphere at Anfield during the warm-up and as they emerged from the tunnel before kick-off in the huge Premier League showdown. However, as Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki approached the travelling supporters, many inflatable bananas were visible among the crowd.
Origins of the banana tradition
The trend dates back to August 1987, when City supporter Frank Newton brought a five-foot blow-up banana to Maine Road for a match against Plymouth Argyle. The idea started with former City forward Imre Varadi, who was nicknamed “Imre Banana” by a fan at the game.
“It was just one guy at the game who referred to him as 'Imre Banana'. A guy called Frank Newton took an inflatable banana to the next game, and then everyone started doing it,” said Dante Friend of 1894, the City fan group that distributed upwards of 1,000 inflatable bananas among supporters travelling to Anfield.
Maresca calls for bananas at the Etihad
Following the 3-0 win over Liverpool and the rebirth of the inflatable banana, the image was selected for the cover of City’s matchday programme for Saturday’s clash against Ipswich. Speaking ahead of City’s first Premier League home game since the guilty verdict, Maresca encouraged fans to bring the inflatables to the stadium.
“It’s very nice. I didn’t know the history behind the banana, but I hope tomorrow I can see many bananas in the stadium,” he said in the pre-match press conference on Friday. “I think it creates a nice environment for the fans and for everyone that is in the stadium.”
