Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool manager, has defended Liverpool fans for booing the British national hymn ‘God Save the King’ before the 1-0 win over Brentford at Anfield on Saturday, May 6, the same day King Charles was anointed the next British king.
Liverpool Football Club said that it would play the anthem ‘God Save the King’ after the league administration contacted clubs playing home games and asked them to take note of the occasion.
The club played the song before kickoff, but there was loud booing as many people expressed their displeasure.
Liverpool fans began booing the national anthem in the 1980s in protest of Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government and her alleged neglect of the city.
Many Liverpool residents felt separated from the rest of the country as a result, with placards stating ‘Scouse not English’ being visible among the throng at Anfield.
Liverpool fans booed the previous national song, God Save the Queen, before the FA Cup final a year ago and the Community Shield in July.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp responded to the boos by saying: “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.”