The football world is up in arms after fans inexplicably booed the minute’s silence to pay tribute to Diogo Jota and his brother ahead of the Community Shield clash between Liverpool and Crystal Palace on Sunday night (AEDT).
The Liverpool star tragically died in a car crash alongside his brother Andre in July.
The 28-year-old’s death rocked the footballing world, as tributes quickly flooded in for the Portuguese international and his brother.
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And in a true act of respect, various tributes have been made throughout each of Liverpool’s pre-season matches as an act of ultimate respect to their former player and his brother.
That was again the case during the 2025/26 season curtain raiser at Wembley Stadium against Crystal Palace.
In the crowd, plenty of fans wore Jota shirts as well as held scarfs featuring his face.
Liverpool also paid a subtle nod to their former player in their kit, with “Forever 20” – a reference to his squad number, which the club retired after his death – embroidered on their kits.
Ahead of kick-off, Liverpool legend Ian Rush, FA chair Debbie Hewitt, and Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish all laid wreaths on the pitch in front of the Reds’ supporters.
As they made the touching tribute, the fans sang an emotional rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.
Then came the minute’s silence, which quickly descended into chaos as a group of Palace fans inexplicably decided to boo and jeer.
Just seconds into the minute’s silence, catcalls and jeers rang out before others booed in truly disgraceful scenes.
Such was the intensity and egregiousness of the behaviour that referee Chris Kavanagh was forced to blow his whistle well short of the minute mark, bringing the tribute to a premature conclusion.
The booing incident came after some Liverpool fans also jeered and booed the national anthem, something that has been periodically done by Reds fans since the 1980s.
This is largely due to a widespread feeling among locals that they have been wronged by the British government, which only intensified in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster.
In the end, after the score was locked 2-2 at the end of full time, Liverpool would go on to lose in penalties (3-2).
But instead of the focus being on Crystal Palace’s incredible Community Shield win, the headlines were about the horrible behaviour from some fans.
It was something Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk touched on after the game, clearly bothered by the fans’ actions.
“Yes, I am disappointed,” van Dijk said about the booing.
“That is the only thing I can say. I don’t know who did that but there was plenty trying to shush it down, but obviously that doesn’t help it.
“You can’t control it (with) how many fans were here today. Was it 80,000 people? So, yeah, it is disappointing to hear that, but if that person or those persons can go home and be happy with themselves, then…”
While Liverpool’s fan base account ‘Empire of the Kop’ wrote on X: “To those who observed the moment of remembrance for Diogo Jota and Andre Silva, thank you. To those who thought it’d be funny to boo and jeer during it, shame on you.”
Prominent football page, ‘The Football Community’ also condemned the act writing: “That’s disgraceful. A minute’s silence for Diogo Jota and Andre Silva was cut short due to booing from a small number of Crystal Palace fans.”
Liverpool will be back in action on Saturday morning (AEDT) as they kick off their Premier League title defence against Bournemouth.