Liverpool pledge lifetime bans for fans guilty of throwing objects

Liverpool have pledged to ban for life fans found guilty of throwing coins towards Pep Guardiola during Sunday's fiery Premier League clash against Manchester City at Anfield.

City manager Guardiola revealed he was a target for missiles hurled from the crowd after the visitors had a goal disallowed during the second half.

Guardiola was not hit by any of the objects but Liverpool, who won the game 1-0 courtesy of a Mohamed Salah strike, opened an investigation into the matter.

"We are aware of an incident involving objects being thrown into the technical area at today's game," said a club spokesman.

"This is totally unacceptable behaviour and not the standards of behaviour we expect at Anfield.

"This incident will be fully investigated using CCTV and those found guilty will be punished, including a lifetime ban from Anfield Stadium and a possible football banning order."

It is not the first time there has been crowd trouble around games involving Liverpool and City at Anfield, with the rivalry between the two clubs having intensified in recent years.

In 2018, City's team bus was pelted with bottles and other objects as it arrived at the Merseyside ground for a Champions League encounter.

Asked about the latest incident, Guardiola said sarcastically: "It didn't get me. They try it again next year. All these coins, they tried, but didn't get it. They got the coach years ago."

Opposite number Jurgen Klopp said he had not been aware of the matter but apologised on behalf of the home club.

Liverpool also expressed their disappointment at chanting and vandalism by City fans on Sunday referencing the Heysel and Hillsborough stadium tragedies in the 1980s.

Graffiti was left in a number of areas of the Anfield Road End, which houses visiting supporters.

It was reported that some of the graffiti referred to "murderers" and the number of people killed at both Heysel and Hillsborough.

A Liverpool statement read: "We are deeply disappointed to hear vile chants relating to football stadium tragedies from the away section during today's game at Anfield. The concourse in the away section was also vandalised with graffiti of a similar nature.

"We know the impact such behaviour has on the families, survivors and all those associated with such disasters."