- Fans Chant drown out National Anthem as Players line up for Liverpool-Brentford Match
By Yemi Yusuf
Shocking footage of Liverpool fans booing while the British National anthem, “God Save the King” played at Anfield to mark King Charles III’s coronation on Saturday, has emerged.
Loud boos and jeering could be heard from the TV footage of Liverpool and Brentford game that was played yesterday as chants of “Liverpool” drowned the anthem being played as players lined up on opposite sides before kickoff.
When interviewed later, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told reporters that he respected it was “a big day for England” but added: “It was clear that something like (the booing) would happen.
“That’s allowed, nothing else happened,” he said. “It wasn’t any kind of chants or anything. People just showed … they were not always happy in the past with how the people of Liverpool, the city or the club, were dealt with.”
Liverpool fans have a history of booing the national anthem, most recently doing so before last season’s FA Cup final at Wembley. Many also booed Prince William when he appeared on the pitch that day.
The club confirmed it would play “God Save the King” ahead of its match against Brentford on Saturday to respect the coronation of King Charles III, despite admitting that many supporters hold “strong views” on the issue.
The decision came after the Premier League requested that the national anthem be played ahead of every match this weekend to celebrate the coronation services of the King and the Queen Consort, which took place on Saturday.
Before kick-off and in recognition of the Premier League’s request to mark the coronation, players and officials will congregate around the centre circle when the national anthem will be played,” Liverpool said in a statement Friday.
“It is, of course, a personal choice how those at Anfield on Saturday mark this occasion and we know some supporters have strong views on it.”
Why fans boo?
So why exactly do Liverpool fans have a history of booing the British national anthem? The answer has everything to do with the history of the city itself.
Liverpool suffered during the deindustrialization of the UK economy in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1981, appalling economic conditions, combined with tensions between the police and the African-Caribbean community, resulted in nine days of riots in the city.
In the aftermath of the unrest, Margaret Thatcher’s government talked of a “managed decline” of the city.
During this decade of Conservative rule, Liverpudlians came to see themselves as outsiders, separate from the rest of the country, and the state’s handling of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 further entrenched those anti-establishment feelings.
Booing of the national anthem at football matches when the team played at Wembley – which was frequent given Liverpool’s dominance of English football in this era – became widespread and remains so today.
“Not My King”
It could be recalled that while the world celebrated the coronation, scores of anti monarchy activists from the UK Republic group some of whom were arrested by police for disrupting the coronation. Head of the group, Graham Smith and 51 others were arrested during the protest where they held placards saying, “Not My King,” “Abolish the Monarchy.”
According to new legislations that came out this week, anyone arrested for protesting the king face a possible sentence of one year in jail.
None of the Liverpool fans were however arrested and it is clear that fans will continue to boo whenever the British anthem is played at Anfield in the nearest future.
A recent poll last month showed that among those aged 18-24 nearly 75 percent say they have little or no interest in the coronation.
