Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp has defended Liverpool fans for booing the British national anthem ‘God Save the King’ prior to the 1-0 win over Brentford at Anfield on Saturday, May 6, the same day King Charles was crowned the new British king.
Liverpool football club said it would play ‘God Save the King’ anthem after the league management had contacted clubs playing home games telling them to note the occasion.
The club played the anthem ahead of kick-off, but even before it started, there were loud boos as many voiced their disapproval.
Liverpool fans started booing the national anthem in the 1980s as a protest towards Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government and how she allegedly neglected the city.
This led to many Liverpudlians feeling disconnected from the rest of the country, with banners reading ‘Scouse not English’ often seen among the crowds at Anfield.
The previous national anthem God Save the Queen was loudly booed by Liverpool fans ahead of the FA Cup final a year ago and the Community Shield in July.
Reacting to the boos, Liverpool manager Klopp said:
‘First and foremost, [it] is a big day for England and I respect that a lot.
”Everyone who wants to be happy about it and wants to celebrate it is allowed to celebrate it. We have, thank God – and not everything now is better than it was in the past – but we have freedom of speech. That means a free opinion as well.
‘It was clear that something like this would happen, I think everyone knew it. And that is allowed, meanwhile. That is fine.
‘Nothing else happened and there was not any kind of chants or anything like that. It was just that the people showed [their feelings].
‘I don’t know exactly what it is, some things I know about, not all. But the people of Liverpool in the past were not always happy with how the city or the club was dealt with. So that is what they did.
‘I think really today, for all other people who love the day – and I am not sure if you say congratulations to the King but if you did then I do that here – but people who celebrate it, they do that here.
‘Other people who are not happy about it they say it and then that’s it. I think that is absolutely OK.’
Watch the video below…
Liverpool fans boo "God Save The King" at Anfield on King Charles III's coronation day.https://t.co/EZiq772rDf
— Hassan Mafi (@thatdayin1992) May 6, 2023