Amnesty International organised for a plane to be flown over the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon ahead of kick-off in the Premier League tie between Manchester City and Liverpool to draw attention to the plight of a human rights activist currently imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates.
A banner reading 'UAE - Free Ahmed Mansoor' trailed behind a low-flying aircraft as players walked out onto the pitch at the ground named for an Emirati airline in a bid to send a message to the club's Abu Dhabi ownership.
Mansoor - an Emirates-born blogger and activist - has been in solitary confinement for close to seven years after he was arrested in 2010 for using social media to 'threaten public order' and handed a 10-year prison sentence.