A number of Everton fans left their seats in the 27 th minute of their team’s Premier League match against Arsenal at Goodison Park in protest over the way the club is run.
The symbolic gesture, dubbed ‘27 minutes for 27 years’ signifies that 2022 will be the 27 th year since the Blues last won a major trophy – the 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the 1995 FA Cup final.
Although you could visibly pick out groups of fans leaving their seats at the allotted time, the protest was not a mass walkout - with the majority of supporters staying put, and many of those increasing the volume.
Everton’s current barren run is the longest silverware drought in the club’s history (they had previously only ever gone 24 years) and long-suffering supporters are frustrated by the current malaise on the pitch.
Despite investing approximately half a billion pounds since taking control of the Blues in 2016, owner Farhad Moshiri’s sixth manager in five years, Rafa Benitez, went into the fixture on the back of an eight-game winless streak, the club’s longest sequence without a Premier League victory since 1999.
Since the protest was announced, Everton have parted ways with their director of football Marcel Brands who was responsible for player recruitment.
A statement in advance of tonight's action from the protest organisers said: “The fans’ emotional investment and financial commitment to the club are totally aligned with Farhad Moshiri's investment.
"We seek the same outcome, a better return for both our investments.
“We call on Farhad Moshiri as major shareholder to make the management changes necessary to see an improvement in performance.
“We call on Farhad Moshiri to communicate in future through official club channels.
“We call on Farhad Moshiri to engage, meet and discuss fan concerns with the fans.”
