‘Pathetic’ – Liverpool fans react as footage of Alexander Isak shirt burning emerges
Football has emerged of Newcastle United supporters burning an Alexander Isak shirt amid rumours the striker could leave the club.
Isak has been the Magpies’ star player since joining the club in January 2023, notching 62 goals and 11 assists in 109 appearances across all competitions.
Only Mohamed Salah (29) scored more Premier League goals than Isak (23) last season, but his form has come at a cost for Newcastle, who are now battling to keep him from Liverpool’s clutches.
| Player | 2024/25 Premier League goals |
| Mohamed Salah | 29 |
| Alexander Isak | 23 |
| Erling Haaland | 22 |
| Chris Wood | 20 |
| Bryan Mbeumo | 20 |
More recently, Newcastle appear to be making progress in keeping hold of Isak — at least in the short term — but that doesn’t seem to have done much to stem the anger of the club’s supporters following a long and difficult transfer saga.
Fans react to Alexander Isak shirt burning footage
A Newcastle fan account posted a video to X on Tuesday (12 August) showing an Isak Newcastle shirt being burned on the floor, along with the ‘Local Hero’ song the club walk out to on matchdays at St. James’ Park.
Unsurprisingly, there has been a strong reaction to the video, primarily from Liverpool fans criticising the ‘pathetic behaviour’ from their Newcastle counterparts.
However, there were some Newcastle fans eager to remind the Reds that they’ve partaken in similar behaviour in the past — and very recently in the case of Trent Alexander-Arnold — calling on the Magpies faithful to stop ‘acting like a Liverpool fan’.
Eddie Howe facing difficult bridge-building task with Isak
Football Insider verdict
Right now, it looks like Newcastle may well keep hold of Isak after all. However, is that really the best move for all parties?
It is an admittedly tiny minority of so-called ‘supporters’ who partake in behaviour like burning shirts. But idiotic as it may be, it can serve as a barometer of a wider fanbase’s feelings.
Isak’s desire to make the move to Anfield has been well-documented and has been the main fuel behind the anger of Newcastle fans.
Between that, Newcastle refusing to budge, and then making Isak train on his own, a monumental amount of water has passed under this particular bridge. And that’s without mentioning the Magpies losing out on Hugo Ekitike to the very club chasing Isak.
It’s going to take a huge effort from manager Eddie Howe to reintegrate Isak into his squad, and the Tynesiders can ill afford their performances to suffer due to infighting, with a return to the Champions League on the horizon.
Missing out on Ekitike and Benjamin Sesko has been tough, but there are other top-quality strikers out there for Newcastle to target.
With that in mind, letting Isak go may be the lesser of two evils, rather than keeping a player who doesn’t want to be there, and who has drawn the ire of the club’s supporters.