Liverpool fans call for RBS boycott
A group of activist Liverpool fans is readying a campaign that calls for a boycott of The Royal Bank of Scotland if the government-owned bank agrees to refinance the club.
Members of the Spirit of Shankly group are said to have emailed RBS chief executive Stephen Hester warning the bank that if refinancing is renegotiated beyond July 2010 “a campaign in protest against RBS will take place which will include billboards with anti-RBS messages encouraging Liverpool fans to boycott RBS”.
Some Liverpool fans are angry with the £350m debt co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have accrued since they purchased the club in February 2007. Hicks and Gillett have until 24 July to repay the money they owe to RBS and US bank Wachovia or negotiate new payment terms.
The email reads: “’Whilst I appreciate that any refinancing package deal is a confidential matter between the Royal Bank of Scotland and the current owners of Liverpool Football Club, it is also a very personal issue for many Liverpool supporters around the world.”
Fans of Premier League rivals Manchester United have also launched a campaign calling for a change of ownership. Manchester United Supporters’ Trust is supporting The Red Knights, a group of City financers, in its bid to buy the club from current owners the Glazers.
