Liverpool fans continued their tradition of booing the national anthem before Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, with sustained jeers throughout God Save The King. The anthem was sung before kick-off against Newcastle United at Wembley and greeted with audible boos from the red half of the stadium.
This mirrored the reception for the anthem last year, when Liverpool beat Chelsea in extra time to win the final trophy of Jurgen Klopp’s reign. Liverpool supporters have protested in a similar fashion since the 1980s, owing to their belief that the British establishment had abandoned the city.
Some Newcastle supporters responded with an increase in the volume of their singing, in an attempt to drown out the protest. This echoes a similar dynamic before last year’s game, when Chelsea supporters showed support for the anthem in the face of boos.
Anger towards Liverpool fans’ stance on the anthem reached a peak in 2022 when supporters booed God Save The Queen before that year’s FA Cup final, also against Chelsea. Klopp defended their right to do so, saying supporters were “wonderful people” who “wouldn’t do it unless there’s a reason for it”.
“Not everything is better than in the past, but thank God we have the freedom of free speech and freedom of opinion. It was clear something like this would happen, everybody knew it. That is fine, nothing else happened, there were no chants.
“The people showed, I don’t exactly know what it was, but they weren’t always happy in the past with the way Liverpool, the club and the city, were dealt with.”
The anthem was played at Anfield shortly after the coronation of King Charles in 2023, after the Premier League suggested all clubs should do so. When it was greeted with predictable dissent Liverpool issued a statement saying: “The Premier League had advised clubs to play God Save the King before kick-off, but did not make it compulsory,
“It is, of course, a personal choice how those at Anfield on Saturday mark this occasion and we know some supporters have strong views on it.”
