Everton fans fly a banner calling the Premier League 'corrupt' over the Etihad

Everton fans have flown a banner over the Etihad during the Premier League to-of-the-table clash between Manchester City and Liverpool villifying the league as 'corrupt' after the club was handed a 10-point deduction for breaching financial regulations.

Fan group The 1878s are among the supporters spearheading vociferous protests over the Premier League weekend, and they have raised over £40,000 for a fighting fund that will produce anti-league banners, placards, and the plane message flown on Saturday afternoon.

A low-flying aircraft trailing a banner which read 'Premier League = Corrupt' was deployed during the showpiece clash featuring their closest rivals after it is thought to have been decided that it would be too dark to do so during Everton's weekend fixture.

The Toffees will play Manchester United at Goodison Park on Sunday, with kick-off at 4.30pm.

Mail Sport understands the Premier League have no jurisdiction to stop these negative messages as the slogans are not officially endorsed by Everton - but Sky Sports opted not to air footage of the protest.

The 1878s confirmed on Tuesday that thousands of ‘Premier League corrupt’ leaflets would be printed and available for collection from various pick-up points around Goodison Park before the match on Sunday.

There will also be flags and banners in both the Gwladys Street End and Park End. One will depict a defiant Sean Dyche with the slogan ‘Dogs of War’ and another will read: ‘Where there is power, money and greed, there is corruption.’

On Friday night, supporters staged a protest at the Premier League's London headquarters in the first of their weekend of demonstrations.

The 1878s shared their gratitude to their fellow fans in a statement that stressed the importance of an attitude of defiance on Sunday.

‘Thank you for all your contributions, the money will not only go towards the atmosphere on Sunday but a continued push at what is a critical time for Everton, during which we need to all be united as one and aligned.

'We will itemise every purchase and publish this to make sure our approach is clear and transparent. We have tried to, as much as possible, deliver something we feel incorporates the thousands of varied requests we have had.’

Earlier in the day, human rights group Amnesty International flew a banner over the Etihad calling for the United Arab Emirates to release Ahmed Mansoor, a blogger and human rights activist who has been imprisoned and in solitary confinement since 2017.