Ten Liverpool players have been banned from touching the famous ‘This is Anfield’ sign by manager Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool’s Anfield stadium is revered across the world thanks to its history and the atmosphere generated by the club’s fans.
Another iconic part of the stadium can’t be seen by the public, but it has been touched by thousands of players over the years.
The ‘This is Anfield’ sign is the last thing the players see before they walk onto the pitch, and over the years it has become tradition for Liverpool’s stars to touch the sign on their way down the tunnel.
The sign was first installed by legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly 50 years ago, and underpinned one of his most famous quotes: “It’s there to remind our lads who they’re playing for and to remind the opposition who they’re playing against!”
However, back in 2016 Jurgen Klopp put a stop to the tradition of his players touching the sign.
Early on in his Liverpool tenure the German manager said: “I’ve told my players not to touch the ‘This Is Anfield’ sign until they win something!
“It’s a sign of respect. I touched it when I was manager of Borussia Dortmund, but we lost 4-0.”
Liverpool have not won a trophy since they beat Chelsea on penalties in the 2022 FA Cup final.
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Because of that, there are now ten players in Klopp’s squad who haven’t won a trophy and are therefore banned from touching the famous sign.
Darwin Nunez joined the club in a £85 million move from Benfica a month after the cup final win, so he is not allowed to perform the pre-game ritual.
Cody Gakpo and youngster Stefan Bajcetic are banned too, as are Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo, Ryan Gravenberch and Ben Doak, who have all joined the club since the last trophy win.
They are joined on the banned list by academy graduates Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley, taking the total to ten players.
The ten players in question will have the chance to end their ban when Liverpool take on Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final on February 25.
