London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Dec 17, 2025

Tributes paid to Queen in UK football stadiums

Tributes paid to Queen in UK football stadiums

Tributes to the Queen were respectfully observed across 30 EFL games and at Liverpool and Tottenham's Champions League matches as UK football resumed after the weekend's postponements.

All English, Welsh and Northern Irish football and senior Scottish football was called off after the UK's longest-serving monarch died aged 96 last week.

At almost all English Football League (EFL) matches the National Anthem was played. A 'period of silence' was held at EFL games as well as Liverpool and Tottenham's Champions League matches.

BBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty reported that the vast majority of Liverpool supporters at a capacity Anfield observed a shorter period of silence impeccably, with one or two rogue shouts at the start of the tribute quickly shouted down before their fixture against Ajax.

A minute's silence was respected at Swansea City in the only EFL game taking place in Wales while the Championship club opted not to play the National Anthem before their home game with Sheffield United.

Liverpool said before the game against Ajax that a 'period of silence' would be held and it lasted for about 30 seconds.

Liverpool fans booed 'Abide With Me' and 'God Save the Queen' before last season's FA Cup final but manager Jurgen Klopp said on Monday he was confident they would show respect against Ajax, as they did against Manchester United last season following the death of Cristiano Ronaldo's baby boy.

On Tuesday, the Hillsborough Survivors Support Alliance, along with Liverpool legends Sir Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness, also urged fans to show respect.

A minute's silence was observed before Tottenham's Champions League game at Sporting Lisbon, where the Champions League anthem was also played.

But the Champions League anthem was not played at Anfield, nor was there a Champions League banner in the centre circle.

Neither the Champions League anthem nor the British National Anthem will be played at any of this week's Champions League games in the UK, with Uefa having rejected requests from Chelsea, Manchester City and Rangers to play 'God Save the King' at their home games on Wednesday.

Both sets of players wore black armbands at Anfield, as did all EFL players, while flags were flown at half-mast. Some clubs also ensured they played appropriate music and suspended their regular advertisements as a mark of respect.

Elsewhere, Mansfield Town released 96 doves during the players' handshake before their League Two game at home to Carlisle United.

Classical singer Russell Watson sang the national anthem before Preston's Championship game against Burnley while at AFC Wimbledon's League Two home game with Northampton, messages recorded by local MPs were played as they joined a group of more than 50 dignitaries to lay a floral tribute in the centre circle before kick-off.

A Swansea statement read: "The EFL provided all clubs with guidance around the suggested form and order any tributes should take. While that guidance was not prescriptive, as a club we tailored our tribute in a manner that we deemed appropriate.

"We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to supporters of both clubs who impeccably observed the minute's silence, while the tributes on display up and down the country was the perfect way to remember Her late Majesty."

Swansea and fellow Welsh club Wrexham issued requests for their fans to respect the minute's silence, but there was a minority of shouting and booing before Wrexham's National League game at home to Dagenham & Redbridge, partly from fans rebuking other supporters.

Mansfield Town released 96 doves as a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, who died aged 96

Programmes at many EFL games featured an image of Queen Elizabeth II, including Hull City's match against Stoke City

An image of Queen Elizabeth II was displayed on the big screen before MK Dons' game with Bolton Wanderers

At Bayern Munich's Champions League game with Barcelona, fans displayed banners telling authorities to 'respect fans' after the postponement of the weekend's games in the UK

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Files $10 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against BBC as Broadcaster Pledges Legal Defence
UK Says U.S. Tech Deal Talks Still Active Despite Washington’s Suspension of Prosperity Pact
UK Mortgage Rules to Give Greater Flexibility to Borrowers With Irregular Incomes
UK Treasury Moves to Position Britain as Leading Global Hub for Crypto Firms
U.S. Freezes £31 Billion Tech Prosperity Deal With Britain Amid Trade Dispute
Prince Harry and Meghan’s Potential UK Return Gains New Momentum Amid Security Review and Royal Dialogue
Zelensky Opens High-Stakes Peace Talks in Berlin with Trump Envoy and European Leaders
Historical Reflections on Press Freedom Emerge Amid Debate Over Trump’s Media Policies
UK Boosts Protection for Jewish Communities After Sydney Hanukkah Attack
UK Government Declines to Comment After ICC Prosecutor Alleges Britain Threatened to Defund Court Over Israel Arrest Warrant
Apple Shutters All Retail Stores in the United Kingdom Under New National COVID-19 Lockdown
US–UK Technology Partnership Strains as Key Trade Disagreements Emerge
UK Police Confirm No Further Action Over Allegation That Andrew Asked Bodyguard to Investigate Virginia Giuffre
Giuffre Family Expresses Deep Disappointment as UK Police Decline New Inquiry Into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Claims
Transatlantic Trade Ambitions Hit a Snag as UK–US Deal Faces Emerging Challenges
Ex-ICC Prosecutor Alleges UK Threatened to Withdraw Funding Over Netanyahu Arrest Warrant Bid
UK Disciplinary Tribunal Clears Carter-Ruck Lawyer of Misconduct in OneCoin Case
‘Pink Ladies’ Emerge as Prominent Face of UK Anti-Immigration Protests
Nigel Farage Says Reform UK Has Become Britain’s Largest Party as Labour Membership Falls Sharply
Google DeepMind and UK Government Launch First Automated AI Lab to Accelerate Scientific Discovery
UK Economy Falters Ahead of Budget as Growth Contracts and Confidence Wanes
Australia Approves Increased Foreign Stake in Strategic Defence Shipbuilder
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson proclaims, “For Ukraine, surrendering their land would be a nightmare.”
Microsoft Challenges £2.1 Billion UK Cloud Licensing Lawsuit at Competition Tribunal
Fake Doctor in Uttar Pradesh Accused of Killing Woman After Performing YouTube-Based Surgery
Hackers Are Hiding Malware in Open-Source Tools and IDE Extensions
Traveling to USA? Homeland Security moving toward requiring foreign travelers to share social media history
UK Officials Push Back at Trump Saying European Leaders ‘Talk Too Much’ About Ukraine
UK Warns of Escalating Cyber Assault Linked to Putin’s State-Backed Operations
UK Consumer Spending Falters in November as Households Hold Back Ahead of Budget
UK Orders Fresh Review of Prince Harry’s Security Status After Formal Request
U.S. Authorises Nvidia to Sell H200 AI Chips to China Under Security Controls
Trump in Direct Assault: European Leaders Are Weak, Immigration a Disaster. Russia Is Strong and Big — and Will Win
"App recommendation" or disguised advertisement? ChatGPT Premium users are furious
"The Great Filtering": Australia Blocks Hundreds of Thousands of Minors From Social Networks
Mark Zuckerberg Pulls Back From Metaverse After $70 Billion Loss as Meta Shifts Priorities to AI
Nvidia CEO Says U.S. Data-Center Builds Take Years while China ‘Builds a Hospital in a Weekend’
Indian Airports in Turmoil as IndiGo Cancels Over a Thousand Flights, Stranding Thousands
Hollywood Industry on Edge as Netflix Secures Near-$60 Bln Loan for Warner Bros Takeover
Drugs and Assassinations: The Connection Between the Italian Mafia and Football Ultras
Hollywood megadeal: Netflix acquires Warner Bros. Discovery for 83 billion dollars
The Disregard for a Europe ‘in Danger of Erasure,’ the Shift Toward Russia: Trump’s Strategic Policy Document
Two and a Half Weeks After the Major Outage: A Cloudflare Malfunction Brings Down Multiple Sites
UK data-regulator demands urgent clarity on racial bias in police facial-recognition systems
Labour Uses Biscuits to Explain UK Debt — MPs Lean Into Social Media to Reach New Audiences
German President Lays Wreath at Coventry as UK-Germany Reaffirm Unity Against Russia’s Threat
UK Inquiry Finds Putin ‘Morally Responsible’ for 2018 Novichok Death — London Imposes Broad Sanctions on GRU
India backs down on plan to mandate government “Sanchar Saathi” app on all smartphones
King Charles Welcomes German President Steinmeier to UK in First State Visit by Berlin in 27 Years
UK Plans Major Cutback to Jury Trials as Crown Court Backlog Nears 80,000
×