bAnthem Both

 A decision has been made by the powers that be not to play the national anthems of England and Wales before Sunday’s Carling Cup Final. The reasoning goes that they are worried the two sets of fans will be disrespectful towards the opposite anthem and in this current climate where behaviour in football is under the microscope it is wisest to avoid any potential flashpoint. It is a situation which the FA rarely comes up against, the vast majority of their showpiece occasions are fought out between two English sides so there is only cause to play one anthem that covers both clubs and fits the event perfectly.

 To be totally honest I hadn’t given a seconds thought to the fact that the national anthem would be played before Sunday’s match and even less thought that the Welsh anthem might be played. It’s easy to say that Cardiff choose to play in the English league so should just accept the God Save The Queen being played but football isn’t about reason, it’s about passion, identity and belonging and I think it’s only right that a team from the Welsh capital is represented by their own national anthem. I think where the FA have gone wrong in cutting out the traditional pre match ritual is forgetting they are dealing with Liverpool fans……

 I think the Liverpool supporters would treat both anthems with a similar amount of indifference, Merseyside is one of a number of areas around Britain where national pride is a very distant second to being proud of the region you come from and the English national anthem on Sunday would be more likely to be drowned out by You’ll Never Walk Alone than anything else. I suspect that if the Welsh anthem was played first the Liverpool fans wouldn’t be disrespectful towards it and then the Cardiff fans would follow on from this and behave appropriately. Liverpool supporters have had some fantastic times in Cardiff over the last few years and those memories don’t fade easily. If the English anthem was played first the Cardiff fans may chant over it or boo, setting the tone for the Liverpool fans to repeat the gesture minutes later. I think of the two sets of fans Cardiff certainly have stronger feelings towards both anthems than the Liverpool supporters do but on such a big occasion would surely be more concerned with supporting their own team than booing a rival national anthem.

 I think it’s a little disrespectful towards both sets of fans for the FA to infer that they don’t trust either group to know how to behave at a cup final and as long as football supporters are treated like children there is a likelihood they will act like them. Liverpool supporters have so much experience of finals that their ability to follow protocol should not be questioned, we are Liverpool and we represent our club and our opponents properly. The opposition goalkeeper ALWAYS gets applauded as he walks towards the Kop whoever he plays for and supporters of visiting European teams are warmly welcomed, often with fans groups arranging special events where the home and visiting fans can mix. I feel so little affinity for our national anthem that I won’t miss it if it’s not there at Wembley on Sunday so the FA’s decision doesn’t particularly concern me but it’s not nice to feel you’re not trusted by those who run the game. The game wouldn’t exist without the supporters so the FA need to show respect to those who deserve it the most.