Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he expects the team’s fans to show “the right respect” when a period of silence is held before the Champions League match against Ajax at Anfield on Tuesday in honour of Queen Elizabeth.
Liverpool supporters booed the national anthem – which was formerly God Save the Queen – when it was played ahead of the FA Cup final in May and the Community Shield in July because of what is perceived to be a long-held opposition toward the establishment.
There have been periods of silence before sporting fixtures and events around the country since the death of the Queen at the age of 96 on Thursday, and UEFA on Monday granted a request by Liverpool for one to take place before the Ajax game. It will be Liverpool’s first game since the Queen’s death, with the team’s home match against Wolverhampton on Saturday having been called off as a mark of respect.
Klopp said it would be “the right thing to do” for Liverpool to make the tribute and referred to how his club’s fans conducted themselves during a Premier League match against fierce rival Manchester United in April, which took place a day after the death of one of Cristiano Ronaldo’s new-born twins.
There was a show of support from both teams’ fans for Ronaldo, with Liverpool’s supporters making a brief rendition of their club anthem – You’ll Never Walk Alone – amid applause around Anfield.
“I don’t think our people need any advice from me for showing respect,” Klopp said. “There are plenty of examples where people show exactly the right respect.
Liverpool fans booed the national anthem in the 1980s and during what some refer to as the “managed decline” of the city during the tenure of the Conservative Party-led government. Deepening those feelings was the failing of the government after the Hillsborough Stadium disaster and many from the left-leaning city continue to feel let down by the state.
Liverpool fans jeered the national anthem and the introduction of Prince William, the queen’s grandson, before the FA Cup final against Chelsea.
The Liverpool and Ajax players will wear black armbands for the match and flags at Anfield have been lowered to half-staff. The club crests on all social-media platforms have changed to black and white, representing the colours of the mourning period in Britain.