Klopp says Liverpool fans will respect minute’s silence before facing Ajax
Jürgen Klopp has said he expects Liverpool fans will respect a minute’s silence in memory of the Queen when football resumes at Anfield on Tuesday.
Liverpool have asked Uefa for permission to commemorate the late Queen before their Champions League fixture at home to Ajax. Sections of the club’s support booed the national anthem before the FA Cup and Carabao Cup finals at Wembley last season, raising questions over how a tribute to the monarch’s death may be observed at Anfield.
Klopp believes a minute’s silence, if allowed by Uefa, would be treated with respect and highlighted Liverpool supporters’ applause for Cristiano Ronaldo in the seventh minute of last season’s game at Manchester United after the death of the player’s new-born son.
“I think it is the right thing to do but I don’t think our people need any kind of advice from me for showing respect,” said Klopp on the proposed silence. “There are plenty of examples where our people showed exactly the right respect. One which surprised me and I was really proud of that moment was last season when we played Manchester United around a very sad situation with Cristiano Ronaldo’s family. And that is what I expect. For me, it is clear that’s what we have to do.”
Klopp lost his mother Elisabeth, who was aged 81, last year and was unable to attend her funeral because of Covid-19 travel restrictions. He said he was acutely aware of the grief felt by those close to the Queen.
The Liverpool manager said: “I am 55 years old and she is the only queen of England I ever knew. As far as I know, I don’t know her, but the things you can see she was a really warm, nice, loved lady and that is all that I need to know. Because of my personal experience not too long [ago, I know] it is obviously not about what I think, but what people felt who are much closer to her. I respect their grief a lot and that is why I will show my respect tomorrow night with the minute’s silence if it goes through.”