You may have noticed over the years that, in the vast majority of cases, Liverpool fans are not all that patriotic – something which has been caused by a wide variety of factors throughout history.
This is also the case in football, but why do Liverpool fans hate the England national team?
This article will take a deep dive into the history of the relationship and where things began to unravel.
Liverpool fans and the England national team: A turbulent relationship
Contents
A political context
Liverpool fans at Reading, a few days after Margaret Thatcher died. #LFC https://t.co/C8YaQkrt4s
— The Away Fans Videos (@TheAwayFansVids) January 3, 2020
We are often told that politics and football should be kept separate. However, in this specific case, it is impossible to do so.
The hatred Liverpool fans have for the England national team and its anthem can be extended to England as a whole – something which first began to surface during a Conservative government led by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.
During this time, Liverpool, a city that rose to prominence thanks to an impressive port that brought both jobs and wealth to the city, began to lose its industrial power within society.
Instead of receiving help and aid from the government during this troubling period, people from the city felt as though the Conservatives had betrayed them and did very little to help, perhaps even purposefully making the situation worse.
In 2011, official documents from the time period were released, and their content intensified the situation even further. Letters from the then-Chancellor, Sir Geoffrey Howe, were released, depicting him urging Thatcher to let Liverpool decline, insisting that improving the situation in the city would be like “trying to make water flow uphill.”
Until that moment, Liverpool being abandoned by the state was merely a widely believed conspiracy that could not be proved. At long last, its citizens had justification for their feelings of resentment, and their hatred towards England and its national anthem only grew from then on.
Mishandling of the Hillsborough disaster
While issues with the government, particularly those of a Conservative persuasion, are at the forefront of the problem, there are undeniably sporting factors that have contributed to Liverpudlians' lack of patriotism.
The Hillsborough disaster of 1989 is an unfortunate example of that.
For those of you who are unaware, in 1989, after gross misconduct of police that at the time was blamed on Liverpool fans, a portion of the stadium collapsed and resulted in the deaths of 97 Liverpool supporters.
It was a tragedy beyond any doubt, and it should have been a time for unity, togetherness and mourning. However, instead of an immediate investigation into those in charge, which in this case were the police, supporters were scapegoated, with bad behaviour cited as one of the fundamental causes.
The handling of Hillsborough was terrible – Liverpool fans and the city's citizens in general were accused of relishing their “victim mentality”, with officials refusing to take any blame for the incident.
It became and ‘us versus them' situation in the city, and if there wasn't already a divide between Liverpool fans and the state, there certainly was now.
Liverpool fans boo the national anthem
National anthem can barely be heard over the boos and chanting at Anfield 🔊 pic.twitter.com/QM41Bg1yUv
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) May 6, 2023
So, as you can see, Liverpool fans do not necessarily hate the England national team, but rather, the country and state they represent. So, while they rarely boo the players, they do boo the national anthem at every opportunity.
Whether that be during cup finals they partake in or international matches, ‘God Save The King' is frequently met with a series of boos and jeers from citizens of Liverpool.
Understandably, this has at times been confused with them hating the national team, but that isn't the case. They want their players to do well, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson and now Trent Alexander-Arnold are examples of that, but they resist all forms of patriotism.
Unfortunately, this has occasionally resulted in tensions arising between them and other England fans.
Controversy as Liverpool fans mock death of Queen Elizabeth II
One such example was in the months after the passing of the late Queen Elizabeth II, which left much of the country devastated.
However, a few Liverpool supporters took it as an opportunity to remind the nation that they are not English, but Scouse, as they often say.
During matches, their fans could be heard singing, “Lizzie's in a box, in a box, Lizzie's in a box.”
It should be no surprise to learn that this caused an immediate divide within the nation and led to heavy criticism of those involved, with many Liverpudlians also condemning the unsavoury behaviour.
In short, there is no one reason why Liverpool fans hate England; instead, the issue is layered.
Political, social, and sporting factors have combined over the last 50 years or so to create a feeling of abandonment among Liverpool supporters, resulting in an unwavering ‘us versus them' mentality.