On Saturday, Liverpool will play the national anthem before their game against Brentford, in recognition of the Premier League’s request to mark the coronation of King Charles III. Liverpool know that some fans have strong views on this, and it is a personal choice how they mark the occasion. Other games in the top flight on Saturday will also mark the coronation in some way, with the national anthem being one of the suggested options. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has previously spoken about the booing of the national anthem at last season’s FA Cup final at Wembley, saying it was “not something I enjoyed”.
In the Women’s Super League, the Football Association has given clubs suggestions on how they can celebrate the coronation, including playing the national anthem before kick-off. Liverpool Women are likely to join the men’s side in playing the anthem before their WSL game against Manchester City at Prenton Park on Sunday.
Liverpool fans have a history of booing the national anthem, citing government plans to leave the city to “managed decline” in the 1980s and the cover-up which followed the Hillsborough disaster as reasons for what John Gibbons from Liverpool fan podcast The Anfield Wrap has called a “disconnect” from the country and royal family. Gibbons believes that Liverpool is out of step with the rest of the country and that it is “galling” when millions are being spent on putting a crown on someone’s head when people in the city can’t afford to eat. He believes that Liverpool should have stood strong and not played the anthem, and that fans should not be made to do something they don’t want to do.