Liverpool fans set to Boo the National Anthem on the day of King's Coronation

Liverpool have confirmed that the national anthem will be played to mark King Charles’s coronation, but it is set to be met with dissatisfaction from supporters.

Liverpool have confirmed that the national anthem will be played before their game against Brentford at Anfield on Saturday to mark King Charles’s coronation, raising the possibility of fans booing “God Save the King”.

The Premier League “strongly suggested” that all 10 clubs playing at home this weekend play the anthem prior to kick-off, proposed a “number of activities” they could adopt to mark the occasion and provided pictures of the King and Queen Consort to be displayed on big screens.

Eyes will be on Anfield to see how Liverpool fans respond, given they have previously booed the anthem ahead of matches including before the 2021-22 FA Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley last May.

Although the Premier League did not make playing “God Save The King” a mandatory requirement, it has been reported that Liverpool felt they were put in an impossible position to do so. In a statement, the club stressed that how fans respond to it is a “personal choice”.

The statement read: “Before kick-off and in recognition of the Premier League’s request to mark the coronation, players and officials will congregate around the centre circle when the national anthem will be played. 

“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.”

Liverpool’s supporters’ antipathy towards the monarchy stems from dislike and distrust of the establishment in the UK for exacerbating unemployment and poverty in the area over decades.

 

The booing of the national anthem became commonplace in the 1980s after Conservative chancellor Geoffrey Howe encouraged prime minister Margaret Thatcher to consider a “managed decline” of the city in the aftermath of the Toxteth riots in 1981.

At the time, unemployment in the UK was at its highest point in half a century with the economy in recession with Merseyside one of the regions worst affected after suffering an industrial decline.

Animosity towards the establishment increased following the police’s attempted cover-up of its failings during the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 in which 97 supporters unlawfully lost their lives.

The police wrongly blamed “drunken Liverpool fans” for causing the disaster – a lie perpetuated by Thatcher’s government and sections of the media.

The club also announced plans to promote Eurovision, which is being held in the city next week, and the 20th anniversary of its charitable foundation before Saturday’s game.

The club released its new home kit for the 2023-24 campaign prior to commenting publicly about the coronation.