Manchester City host relegation-haunted Leicester City in the Premier League on Wednesday, hoping to get their bid for UEFA Champions League qualification back on track.
Pep Guardiola’s side are winless in their past two top-flight games and victory over Bournemouth in the FA Cup quarterfinals last weekend came at a cost as star striker Erling Haaland suffered an ankle injury that could keep him out for seven weeks.
Anything other than a victory would be a huge blow to City’s top-five prospects but the opening stages of the match are set to be played out in front of huge chunks of empty seats at the Etihad Stadium.
Thousands of City supporters will not take their seats until nine minutes into the match as part of a fan-organised protest against the club’s ticketing policies. Protests organisers said, “This would send a powerful message to highlight football without fans is nothing.”
Here’s everything you need to know.
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Where are Man City’s fans? Ticketing protest explained
The trigger for the protest was Manchester City’s announcement of a multi-year partnership with ticket reselling site Viagogo on March 27.
In the media release launching the deal, City said the partnership would “give fans around the world new opportunities to access and experience live men’s and women’s matches.”
However, it came at a time of mounting supporter frustration at City’s ticketing policies, which a number of fans believe are serving to price out and exclude long-time local supporters, while making the current matchday experience less enjoyable inside the stadium.
Some of the factors anecdotally cited to The Sporting News include away fans sitting in home sections because they have taken out City memberships, rising ticket prices, a refusal to release new full season tickets despite the capacity of the Etihad Stadium expanding to 60,000 in 2025/26, over-zealous stewarding and the policy of making all matchday tickets for the coming season available in a summer sales window.
The problem of away supporters in home sections and the associated safety risk is believed to have been exacerbated by tickets appearing on third-party sites. Viagogo are the ninth such company to enter in an agreement with City — hence the nine-minute boycott decided upon by fan groups 1894, Trade Union Blues and MCFC Fans Foodbank Support.
A statement issued to promote the protest read, “Viagogo is City’s ninth ticket reseller partner. That means more safety & security problems. That means more away fans and non-City fans all over the ground. That means a total erosion of the atmosphere and identity of our club.
“We are the 1% and we are being treated with 1% importance. Us supporters have real power if only we realise that we have it.”
The statement added: “Fans are priced out, cannot get a season ticket and they [the club] are pushing on with Viagogo, the absolute worst of [third-party ticket sellers]. Become outnumbered in our own ground…or fight back.”
Additionally, City are yet to announce their season ticket prices for 2025/26, creating an impasse with fans campaigning for a price freeze. With the exception of the 2021/22 campaign — the first with supporters back in full-capacity English grounds since the coronavirus pandemic — prices of season tickets at the Etihad Stadium have gone up every season since 2017/18.
Official fan advisory group City Matters requested an extraordinary meeting with the club to discuss prices for next season and went on strike when a date for the meeting was not set. That meeting will belatedly take place on Thursday, April 3, the day after the Leicester game.
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What are Man City fans doing to protest against Leicester?
The main part of the protest, as distributed by 1894 on their social channels, encourages fans not to take their seats for the first nine minutes of the match “to highlight how fans would be missed”.
If fans go to their seats as normal from kickoff, they have been asked to remain silent. 1894 — named after the year of Manchester City’s formation — has asked for “full backing to the players” after the nine-minute window.
“[The] club are making it a financial issue against fans so let’s use the same tactics back,” 1894 said.
Prior to the game, fans groups have encouraged supporters to gather outside the Etihad Stadium main entrance at 7 p.m. for a peaceful demonstration.
Additionally, City fans have been encouraged not to buy food or merchandise in the stadium and to consider discontinuing their memberships of the direct debit ticket scheme for Carabao Cup matches.
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What did Pep Guardiola say about the Man City fan protest?
Coincidentally, City manager Guardiola also won’t be in his usual seat at kickoff as he serves a touchline ban for collecting a third yellow card of the season during the FA Cup win at Bournemouth.
Guardiola has previously put himself into conflict with City fans, questioning actions such as booing the Champions League anthem. But nine seasons in Manchester has him more attuned to their idiosyncrasies. Speaking at a pre-match press conference for the Leicester game, he supported their right to protest.
“Of course I have sympathy,” he said. “When the fans can express good moments or bad moments or feelings, it’s because the team and the club is alive. The worst is when you cannot express that.
“I don’t know specifically [this issue], but football clubs belong to the people and if the people don’t agree with something they can legitimately express concerns with the club. And the club is open, listening to them so everybody can be satisfied.
“The club has to be active in many departments in the decisions being made and has to take them for the benefit of the club, but the club doesn’t take it [the support] for granted.”
Guardiola added, “All I can say is that we need them. Since minute one, we need them. We need them desperately to achieve our success to be in the Champions League again.
“Imagine going to the stadium with no fans, it would make no sense. Our job would make no sense. They applauded when we won and they boo when they are dissatisfied with our performance. Of course they can legitimately express their concerns and feelings with the club. The club will listen to them and try to arrive at an agreement.”
