In contrast to Rangers, who disobeyed Uefa’s prohibition on British clubs playing the national song, Celtic supporters insulted the Queen’s death yesterday night with a banner that said “F*** The Crown” and cries of “if you detest the royal family, clap your hands.”
Scottish football is riven by sectarianism, and although many Celtic supporters identify as Catholic and Irish republicans, many Rangers supporters identify as Protestant and unionists.
The provocative banner was revealed by Celtic supporters immediately before their Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk last night, and BT Sport was compelled to issue an apology after focusing on it during the match played in Warsaw.
All UK teams, whether at home or abroad, were permitted to observe a one-minute moment of silence in memory of the Queen, who passed away last week.
But it was determined that there would be no quiet prior to the start of the game after a pre-game meeting involving Celtic, Shakhtar, and Uefa. Both teams’ players did wear black armbands as a mark of respect for Her Majesty.
The feeling, however, was obviously not shared by all of the visiting Celtic fans. F*** The Crown was written on a banner that was unfurled just before kickoff. Another banner that similarly made fun of the Queen’s passing was unfurled while the Champions League song was being performed. “Sorry for your loss, Michael Fagan,” it said.
In 1982, Fagan made headlines when he boldly scaled the walls of Buckingham Palace before sneaking into Her Majesty’s chamber while she slept.
The queen and the then-painter and decorator spoke for nearly ten minutes about his family. The Queen mistakenly believed that Fagan was merely a buzzed employee who was finally attacked by a working footman.
Due to the current Russian-sponsored violence in Ukraine, the Celtic game was held in Warsaw. To cheer Celtics in their second Champions League encounter of the season, thousands of fans travelled to Poland.
Rangers blasted “God Save The King” via speakers at Ibrox Friday night, defying Uefa’s prohibition on British clubs playing the national anthem before Champions League matches.
A large mosaic of the queen’s face on the Union Flag backdrop was created by supporters in the Broomloan Road stand as they held up cards above a banner stating “1926 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2022.”
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was honoured at Ibrox this evening with a minute of quiet, a show put on by the Union Bears, and a performance of the national hymn, according to a post on the Rangers’ official website.
The likelihood that Rangers and Chelsea will breach the UEFA anthem rule grew throughout the day as fans of both teams were urged by a fan organisation to “belt out” the song before their matches with Red Bull Salzburg.
Due to a lack of police presence, there were no Napoli supporters in attendance, therefore the Rangers-only audience respectfully observed a minute of silence before the national anthem was played over the PA system.
At Chelsea, there were several tributes to the Queen, and despite instructions not to, fans spontaneously sang the British national song before kickoff.
This week, Sportsmail broke the exclusive story that Uefa refused British teams’ demands to play the national anthem before European matches in the wake of the Queen’s passing.
Prior to their home games, Manchester City, Chelsea, and Rangers all pleaded for permission to play God Save the King.
Uefa objected “on the grounds of maintaining an uniform pre-match ceremonial with a sombre tone and without any celebratory actions across all UK stadiums to show respect,” according to a statement from the organisation.
The Champions League anthem was not allowed to be played before the game started, and teams and personnel were asked to wear black armbands in places where it was requested.
Rangers, however, decided to entirely defy the Uefa order, and the PA announcer announced that the British national anthem will play after the pause.
Manchester City requested that right from Uefa, but after being turned down, they adhered to convention and did not play the song as long as Rangers did.
Although Chelsea did not play it over the stadium speakers, the crowd pushed for a performance of the national anthem before the moment of silence.
However, there was a moment of quiet in Manchester for the Queen, which was observed by both Manchester City and their rivals Borussia Dortmund.
In honour of the Queen, thousands of Rangers supporters attended with banners, while Union Jack flags were flown across the stadium in anticipation of Rangers’ Champions League return.
The Shed End Chelsea supporters created their own flag in memory of the late monarch, which said, “RIP Your Majesty,” and then sang the national song when the players came out of the tunnel.
In violation of UEFA’s prohibition, a Chelsea fan organisation pushed fans to “belt out” the national song that evening. A picture sent to Twitter shows some fans erecting Union flags at Stamford Bridge in advance of the match.
One end of the field was decorated with Union flags in the accompanying photo, which urged game-going supporters to do the same.
Setting up for tomorrow, it read. If you have any Union Jack flags, please bring them tomorrow. Your Majesty, RIP.
Red Bull Salzburg supporters silently made their way to Stamford Bridge as their own homage. Fans can be seen silently making their way to the stadium in a video uploaded from the Austrian team’s Twitter account.
According to a tweet, “our supporters marched in silence from Earl’s Court to the stadium out of respect for the Queen.” In this time of sorrow, “We stay together with the people of the UK.”
In order to preserve a “uniform pre-match ceremonial with a solemn tone and without any celebratory actions across all UK stadiums to show respect as we did last Thursday,” according to Uefa, no anthems are being performed.
Stamford Bridge in Chelsea and the Etihad Stadium in Manchester both conducted a minute of silence before to the start of the games, and both venues had banners honouring the late king on display.
Elizabeth II, who ruled Britain for seven decades until passing away last Thursday at Balmoral in Scotland, is now the subject of a period of national mourning in Britain. Her state funeral will be held the following Monday.
God Help The King will be sung during Premier League games this weekend as part of the honours being given to The Queen’s death. It was originally performed at the Oval before Saturday’s third test match between England and South Africa.
On Thursday, an hour after it was reported that the Queen had passed away, there were equally poignant moments at other games. A moving performance of “God Save the Queen” was performed by tens of thousands of West Ham supporters.