An Everton supporter staged a clever prank by selling relabelled blue flares as red, leading to blue flares lighting up Liverpool’s Premier League title celebrations at Anfield, adding a cheeky twist to the historic moment.
An Everton supporter has garnered widespread attention for an elaborate prank during Liverpool’s Premier League title celebrations at Anfield on Sunday. The occasion marked Liverpool securing their 20th English top-flight championship following a remarkable 5-1 comeback win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Liverpool supporters held exuberant celebrations inside and outside Anfield, where red flares were prominently set off to display the club’s colours. However, a surprising number of blue flares — representing the colours of Merseyside rivals Everton — were also ignited during the festivities.
The prank was uncovered on social media by user @LesleyField5 (formerly on Twitter, now known as X). She revealed that an Everton fan had purchased 10,000 blue flares but had removed their original blue labels and replaced them with red ones. These disguised flares were then sold to Liverpool fans ahead of the Spurs match, who were unaware they were buying flares in the colours of their rival club.
Posting eight days before the game, on 19 April, @LesleyField5 wrote: “My mates just texted me there,” explaining the meticulous process of relabelling flares and the hope that the entire batch would be sold. The revelation went viral on the day of Liverpool’s match against Tottenham as fans documented instances of blue flares being lit inside Anfield and around the city during the club’s title celebrations.
The post showing images of the flares has been viewed over eight million times on X, accumulating more than 22,000 likes, 1,000 retweets, and 415 replies. On the day of the game, @LesleyField5 shared video footage showing Liverpool supporters setting off a blue flare inside the stadium, captioning it simply with laughing emojis alongside the words, “It worked.”
The prank drew praise from football fans across social media. One user, @BlueBren, described it as “a masterstroke,” while @BizzaBrandon31 joked about the irony of potentially receiving a stadium ban for lighting the wrong colour flare. Another fan, @ezzalodge, commented: “This is the kind of s***housery I can get on board with,” applauding the cheeky nature of the stunt.
This is not the first instance in recent years of Everton supporters gaining attention for pranking their local rivals. In 2022, ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League final against Real Madrid, Everton fans had mocked a situation in which some Liverpool supporters were reportedly left stranded due to a coach failing to appear. The incident spawned memes and a fabricated Companies House listing naming “Mr Arlsion” (a pun on the Everton player Richarlison) as a coach company controller.
Liverpool’s title celebrations marked a historic achievement for the club, but the presence of blue flares served as an unusual and humorous footnote to the occasion, illustrating the ongoing rivalry and banter shared by the Merseyside clubs’ fanbases.
Source: Noah Wire Services
Noah Fact Check Pro
The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first
emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed
below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may
warrant further investigation.
Freshness check
Score:
9
Notes:
The narrative describes an event tied to Liverpool’s recent Premier League title secured on 21 April 2024 and references social media posts dated 19 April 2024. There are no signs of outdated or recycled content; the prank was revealed just days before and went viral contemporaneously with the celebrations. The content is timely and recent.
Quotes check
Score:
8
Notes:
Direct quotes are mostly from the social media user @LesleyField5 and other Twitter/X users, with the earliest known mention on 19 April 2024, prior to the Liverpool-Tottenham match on 21 April. The original source is the social media user’s post, which went viral. Because the quotes come from identifiable social media accounts with timestamps, the originality and timing are verifiable.
Source reliability
Score:
7
Notes:
The narrative appears derived from social media posts and fan accounts rather than a major established media outlet. While social media reports can accurately capture fan incidents and viral pranks, they are less authoritative than traditional reputable news agencies. There is moderate certainty, but the nature of fan pranks means some details might be anecdotal.
Plausability check
Score:
9
Notes:
The prank is plausible and consistent with known local football rivalry banter and previous Everton pranks. The detailed methodology of relabelling flares and the viral spread on social media corroborate its likelihood. Similar pranks in the past (e.g., 2022 Everton’s Champions League final mocking) add credibility. There is no conflicting information undermining the claims.
Overall assessment
Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): PASS
Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): HIGH
Summary:
The narrative is current, with original social media sources dating just before the event, supporting freshness and authenticity of quotes. Although sourced mainly from social media rather than an established media outlet, the story is plausible and consistent with known fan behaviours and past incidents. Overall, the information is reliable and up-to-date with a high degree of confidence.
