London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 21, 2026

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
EU Imposes Record €550 Million Digital Services Fine on AliExpress
UK Publishes Updated Consumption-Based Carbon Emissions Data
English Regions Prepare for Expanded Devolution and Infrastructure Powers
Russell Group Backs New Government and Calls for Stronger University-Industry Links
Bank of England Maintains Restrictive Monetary Policy Amid Persistent Inflation
Climate Progress Report Renews Debate Over the UK's Net Zero Strategy
New UK Government Launches Drive to End Rough Sleeping and Expand Social Housing
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Appoints John Healey as Chancellor in Cabinet Reshuffle
OECD Calls for Structural Reforms as UK Economy Faces Slower Growth
International Monetary Fund Expects UK Economic Growth to Slow to One Percent in 2026
Andy Burnham Takes Office as UK Prime Minister and Unveils Decade-Long Reform Agenda
London’s Housing Starts Collapse as Planning and Building Costs Stall Development
Charlie Sheen’s Daughter: "My Dad Didn’t Buy Me a House, My Breasts Bought It"
Vivienne Westwood Casts Cicciolina, 74, in Its New Autumn Campaign
Dejavu: Germany’s Military Expansion Reshapes Europe’s Strategic Balance With France
Naturally Conceived Identical Quadruplets Born in Rare Brisbane Delivery
Tate Brothers Fight British Extradition Bid After Miami Arrests
Burnham Reshapes Britain’s Government Around Living Costs, Devolution and Security
Jingye Demands Full Compensation After Britain illegally Nationalized British Steel
Just Another Liar or a Robin Hood? Andy Burnham Pledges Cost-of-Living Help in First Speech as UK Prime Minister
Morgan Stanley Builds a Wall Street Lead in AI Infrastructure Finance
High Prices Push Coffee Drinkers Toward Whole Beans and Home Brewing
Trump Draws Boos and Podium Scrutiny at Spain’s World Cup Triumph
Brilliant move: Péter Magyar Moves to Nominate Chess Grandmaster Judit Polgár as Hungary’s President
Spain Defeats Argentina in Extra Time to Win Second World Cup
Police Block Cockroach Janta Party’s March to Parliament as Education Protests Intensify
Current AI Seeks to Build an Open Global AI Infrastructure Outside Big Tech Control
Turkey Explores S-400 Transfer to UAE in Bid to Rejoin F-35 Program
Josh Kerr Breaks Twenty-Seven-Year World Mile Record at London Diamond League
Thames Water Crisis Deepens as South East Water Outages Hit Thousands in Kent
EU Ban on Destroying Unsold Clothing Forces British Fashion Brands to Change Operations
UK Government Confirms Existing North Sea Oil and Gas Licences Will Be Honoured
UK Covid Inquiry Finds Nearly Ten Billion Pounds Lost in Pandemic Protective Equipment Procurement
Thames Water Moves Toward Possible Temporary Nationalisation Amid Rescue Plan Dispute
Andy Burnham Cancels One Point Eight Billion Pound Digital ID Programme After Taking Office
UK Government Takes British Steel Into Full Public Ownership to Protect Jobs and Supply Chains
Andy Burnham Becomes UK Prime Minister and Pledges Focus on Living Costs and Public Services
Germany’s Economic Malaise Reopens the Sunday Shopping Debate
Singapore Considers Lower Taxes for Fund Managers as Hong Kong Intensifies Talent Contest
US Retaliates Against Iran After Two American Troops Killed in Jordan
Bank of Asia BVI Enters Court-Supervised Liquidation After Regulators Find It Insolvent
Proposed U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Pact Could Permit Limited Uranium Enrichment Under International Safeguards
Netherlands Declares Water Shortage Emergency After Drought Pushes Rivers to Historic Lows
Why Kentucky Fried Chicken Became KFC—and Why the False Explanations Persist
Iran Claims It Destroyed Bahrain’s Main Artificial Intelligence Center in Missile and Drone Strike
Ukrainian Drones Strike Wildberries Warehouses Deep Inside Russia
Brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate Who Turned "Toxic Masculinity" Into a Brand Arrested in Miami as Britain Seeks Their Extradition
Reported CIA Mission Helped Clear the UAE’s Path to Advanced US AI Chips
Artificial Intelligence Capital Fuels Markets While Governments and Regulators Face Mounting Strategic Tests
China’s Moonshot’s Kimi K3 Narrows the Gap With Anthropic Through Scale, Openness and Lower Cost
×