CNN —
Liverpool have confirmed they will play “God Save the King” ahead of their game against Brentford on Saturday to respect the coronation of King Charles III, although the club admit many fans have “strong views” on the issue.
Liverpool fans have booed the national anthem in the past, most recently ahead of last season’s FA Cup final at Wembley – many have also booed Prince William when he appeared on the pitch.
The decision comes after the Premier League requested that the national anthem be played before every game this weekend to celebrate the King and Queen’s coronation services, which take place on Saturday.
“Before kick-off and in recognition of the Premier League’s request to celebrate the coronation, players and officials will gather around the center circle as the national anthem is played,” Liverpool said in a statement on Friday.
“Obviously how they celebrate the occasion at Anfield on Saturday is a personal choice and we know some fans have strong opinions on that.”
Why exactly do Liverpool fans have a history of booing the British national anthem? The answer has everything to do with the history of the city itself.
Liverpool suffered from the deindustrialisation of the British economy in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1981, appalling economic conditions combined with tensions between the police and the African-Caribbean community led to nine days of unrest in the city.
After the riots, Margaret Thatcher’s government spoke of an “orderly decline” for the city.
During this decade of Conservative rule, Liverpudlians increasingly saw themselves as outsiders, separate from the rest of the country, and the state’s handling of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 further entrenched these anti-establishment sentiments.
Booing of the national anthem at football matches when the team played at Wembley – a common occurrence given Liverpool’s dominance of English football at the time – was widespread and remains so to this day.
Many fans had the same reaction at the February 2022 Carabao Cup Final and the 2012 FA Cup Final.
Booing the anthem is a way for some supporters of the club to express their opposition to the establishment, and it’s an opportunity to do so in front of a worldwide audience.
The King’s coronation on Saturday also comes at a time when many are feeling the devastating effects of the severe cost of living crisis now affecting the whole of Britain.
High inflation, years of stagnant wages and the sudden and steep rise in energy prices have pushed millions of Britons to the brink of poverty.
At the same time, the British government is spending tens of millions of tax dollars on a glamorous celebration.
Social and economic inequality is something that continues to irk many in the left-leaning city of Liverpool.
Significantly, it was Liverpool and Everton fans who launched Fans’ Supporting Foodbanks in 2015, an initiative aimed at tackling food poverty in the UK.
Asked about the club’s decision to play the national anthem on Saturday, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said: “The club’s position is my position.”
“It’s definitely a subject I can’t really have an opinion on. I’m from Germany, we don’t have a king, queen or anything like that,” he told reporters on Friday.
“I’m pretty sure a lot of people in this country will enjoy the coronation, some might not be really interested and some might not like it. That’s it. It’s across the country.”
Many feared Liverpool fans would disrupt a minute’s silence for Queen Elizabeth II following her death last year, but few isolated boos were heard on the occasion.
And in an article written on Friday, football journalist Dominic King suggested Liverpool fans could simply sing the club’s own anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” instead of “God Save The King” on Saturday.