If you regularly attend matches involving Everton or Liverpool, you will almost certainly hear the same defence whenever the chant “Feed the Scousers” echoes around an away end.

“It’s just banter.”

It is a familiar phrase in football culture. A catch-all excuse that attempts to reduce ignorance to humour and offence to oversensitivity. The implication is always the same. The problem is not the chant, but the people who object to it.

But strip that sentence back and it becomes clear how hollow it is. Poverty, hunger and hardship are not punchlines. They are realities for millions of people across the United Kingdom. Turning them into a song does not magically make them harmless.

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A chant rooted in outdated and damaging stereotypes

As a piece of terrace creativity, “Feed the Scousers” is neither clever nor original. It trades on tired stereotypes about poverty in Liverpool, a city that has endured decades of economic struggle and political neglect.

Even the term “Scouser”, now worn proudly by many, has its roots in deprivation. It originally referred to people living in Liverpool’s slums in the early 20th century, many of Irish descent, who relied on soup kitchens serving a basic stew known as scouse.

The chant itself dates back to the 1980s, another period of severe hardship on Merseyside. That it still surfaces today says less about rivalry and more about football’s reluctance to move on from lazy, demeaning tropes.

This festive season, with household budgets under pressure across the country, patience with such chanting is understandably wearing thin.

The latest flashpoint and a predictable reaction

When the chant surfaced again during Everton’s recent home game against Arsenal, few inside the stadium were surprised. Opposition fans in the north-east corner began singing early on.

What followed felt significant.

The immediate response from the home crowd was a chorus of boos. Almost at once, the big screens inside Hill Dickinson Stadium displayed the logo of Fans Supporting Foodbanks, the Merseyside-born initiative that now operates nationwide. As the chanting continued, the logo appeared again later in the first half.

This was not a spontaneous decision. It was a planned response.

Everton had done the same during a match against Chelsea in 2023. A similar approach was prepared earlier this month against Nottingham Forest, only to be abandoned when the chant stopped.

That a Premier League club now has a strategy for dealing with poverty chanting should give everyone pause. This behaviour is no longer rare. It is expected.

When the numbers expose the nonsense

The chant also collapses under even basic scrutiny.

Supporters of Arsenal regularly contribute to collections for Islington Foodbank before home matches. Acts of generosity sit awkwardly alongside songs mocking poverty elsewhere.

Statistically, the picture is equally uncomfortable. Unemployment in Liverpool stands at 5.3 per cent. The national average is just under four. London’s rate is higher at 5.5 per cent, while Islington itself sits at 5.0.

Some Everton supporters also noted the irony of hearing the chant from fans of Nottingham Forest, given Nottingham City Council effectively declared bankruptcy in 2023.

There are no winners in this exchange. Misery is not a league table and hardship is not confined by postcodes or club badges.

Foodbanks, football and quiet acts of solidarity

If there is a counterpoint to all of this, it lies in the work being done away from the noise of the stands.

Before kick-off at Hill Dickinson Stadium, the Fans Supporting Foodbanks team were again operating from their purple van in the fan plaza. Everton and Liverpool supporters worked side by side, united by their shared belief that hunger does not wear club colours.

On this occasion, the matchday officiating team donated food parcels, a small but telling gesture. These contributions matter.

Between 2024 and 2025, nearly three million emergency food parcels were distributed by Trussell Trust food banks across the UK. That figure exists in one of the wealthiest economies in the world.

The need is growing, not shrinking.

Everton’s wider role beyond the pitch

Clubs are not powerless in this space and Everton have long understood that.

Their charitable arm, Everton In The Community, is widely recognised for its work in some of the most deprived wards in England. It is regularly cited as an example of best practice, not only domestically but internationally.

There is also optimism that the club’s new £800 million stadium on Liverpool’s north docks can help regenerate an area that has suffered decades of neglect.

These initiatives do not erase poverty overnight, but they reflect a willingness to engage rather than mock.

A reminder of what actually matters

One of the most moving moments of the weekend had nothing to do with chanting or rivalry.

Everton’s mascot was an eight-year-old fan named Georgie, invited to the match by Jack Grealish after the club learned of his family’s circumstances. Georgie had recently lost his father and grandmother. His mother Gemma has been diagnosed with stage-four blood cancer.

It was a quiet reminder that behind every statistic and slogan are real people dealing with real pain.

While some supporters were singing about hunger, others were actively trying to ease it.

Why “Feed the Scousers” belongs in the past

Football thrives on rivalry. It always has and always will. But there is a line between competitive edge and casual cruelty.

Poverty chanting crosses it.

The irony is stark. The fans doing the most to combat food insecurity are often the same ones being targeted by these songs. That contradiction should make the chant indefensible.

Dismissing it as banter no longer holds up. Not when foodbanks are busier than ever. Not when clubs are preparing official responses. Not when solidarity is needed more than sneering.

It is time for “Feed the Scousers” to be put to bed. Not quietly excused. Not reluctantly tolerated. But recognised for what it is and left behind by a game that claims to be for everyone.