Spirit of Shankly has condemned Liverpool FC for playing the national anthem of ‘God Save the King’ at Anfield on the coronation weekend, despite the Premier League “strongly” suggesting it be aired at every match. The supporters union admitted that the club was “left in a near-impossible situation,” but said they should have made the alternate decision and not played it. After fans sang over the top of the anthem and widely booed it, ‘Hillsborough’ trended on Twitter and bigots used it as an excuse to spout hatred against Liverpool fans and the city.
The union released a statement saying that Liverpool were “damned if they did, damned if they didn’t,” but they knew what would happen and the consequences of playing the anthem – the predictable, hateful bile regarding Hillsborough would be re-ignited all over social media. They added that survivors and the families and friends of the 97 people unlawfully killed at Hillsborough were subjected to a despicable backlash.
Author Tony Evans summed up the situation for the i, writing that the club had two options – ignore the coronation or go ahead with the tribute to monarchy – either route would have brought a tsunami of criticism. Liverpool chose the latter option and, in doing so, deflected any criticism onto supporters, instead of taking it themselves. Spirit of Shankly has called out Liverpool FC for their decision, saying that it will lead to an increase in hate chanting in the future.