Man City fans showed their distaste towards UEFA at the UCL final (Photo: Getty)
Manchester City fans booed the Champions League anthem ahead of the final kick-off – despite Pep Guardiola’s pleas for them not to.
City take on Inter Milan in Istanbul on Saturday night as they hope to secure a historic treble following their triumphs in the Premier League and FA Cup final.
Ahead of the game, captain Ilkay Gundogan had sent a message to supporters asking them to create a ‘positive noise’ ahead of kick-off, just like they had done at Wembley before the win over Manchester United.
He said: ‘Hearing them sing Blue Moon in the tunnel, the deafening atmosphere as we walked out onto the pitch to a sea of blue, the Poznan as we waited for the match to start on the pitch.
‘It was incredible and, in my opinion, helped us score after 13 seconds.’
But City fans have jeered the Champions League anthem in protest against UEFA for various reasons over the years.
Asked about this and Gundogan’s comments, Guardiola said in his pre-match press conference on Friday: ‘I agree with Ilkay, it is a day to celebrate.
‘Inter fans, City fans, a day to be happy. Celebrate being here. Finish, what happens in the past is the past.
‘It’s an incredible competition, UEFA organise it, we support unconditionally what they’re doing. We aren’t going to boo again and have fun.’
Smoke from a nearby factory fire could easily be seen from the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul (Photo: Reuters)
But clearly this message was not received by all Citizens who proceeded to boo the famous anthem when it played in the Atatürk Olympic Stadium an hour or so before the game got underway.
However, there was none of that when it was played again – this time by a live piano and orchestra – just minutes before kick-off.
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That may have been down to the fact that it was played while the teams were walking out, rather than when the players prepare to line-up as per usual.
In other news, both sets of fans endured a chaotic few hours ahead of the match when a large fire broke out at a factory near the ground.
More to follow…
MORE : Why do Man City boo the Champions League anthem?
The City boss had asked supporters not to jeer ahead of kick-off.