A Crystal Palace supporters’ group has offered an explanation for the crowd disturbances during the minute’s silence for the passing of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva, held before their Community Shield final against Liverpool at Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Eagles made it two wins in three months at the home of football, having also lifted their first major honour – the FA Cup – at the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
The Reds made a fast start, with new signings Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike linking up well to give the Premier League champions the lead within five minutes. Jean-Philippe Mateta then drilled in a penalty after Virgil van Dijk’s foul in the box, but the stalemate was short-lived as Jeremie Frimpong’s freak goal on 20:20 had everyone talking about Jota again.
In the end, though, a late Ismaila Sarr strike sent the game to penalties. Mohamed Salah blasted his spot-kick over the bar, and Dean Henderson’s heroics – saving efforts from Alexis Mac Allister and Harvey Elliott – left the Reds ruing their missed chances. But events prior to kickoff no doubt marred the official season opener, and Van Dijk has also since spoken out.
Crystal Palace Fan Group Speaks Out After Crowd Disturbances
Liverpool players wore a special ‘Forever 20’ emblem printed onto their shirts for the game and Reds legend Ian Rush and Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish presented wreaths onto the pitch. A minute’s silence was then signalled by the referee, Chris Kavanagh, but it did not last the full duration, with the official cutting it short after shouting was heard from the Crystal Palace end. In the mixed zone after the game, Van Dijk was asked about the interruption and told journalists, as per the Daily Mail: “[I was] disappointed, that’s everything I’d say – there was plenty trying to shush it down, but that didn’t help. It’s disappointing to hear that. (I hope) those people go home and are happy with themselves.”
Palace supporters were widely condemned for failing to pay respects but ‘Five Year Plan’, a popular Crystal Palace fanzine, issued a statement to provide some clarification on what happened. According to the account, Palace supporters had issues getting into their section at Wembley and were delayed in getting into the ground – and so were unaware that a minute’s silence was taking place when they entered the concourse.The post on X read:
“A lot of our fans had difficulty getting into the ground. Stewarding was a mess. Some came into the concourse without realising what was going on. All we can do is apologise. It’s a disappointing thing to have happened and we’re sorry.
“We’ve had a good rapport with Liverpool fans over the years. We don’t do tragedy chanting, we care for our community. We have a lot in common as fans.”
The post continued (see below): “We’ve had a good rapport with Liverpool fans over the years. We don’t do tragedy chanting, we care for our community. We have a lot in common as fans.
“We’re certain no one would have intentionally disrupted the moment of silence. Our thoughts are with Diogo, Andre and family. Some of our own fans have said people did boo. Which is really disappointing. Jota’s death shocked us.
“We can’t believe people would boo any memorial to him. Let alone our own fans. We can’t speak for them but we can apologise for their actions. So we’re sorry.”
Below the post, someone asked whether the boos could have been a reaction to Liverpool supporter’s jeering the national anthem, to which the fanzine bluntly replied: “No.”
It has now been over a month since the tragic death of Jota and his brother, but tributes in memory of the siblings are expected to continue all the way through the season.
Newcastle United have planned to sing You’ll Never Walk Alone upon the Reds’ first away game of the Premier League campaign, while his song will no doubt be sung regularly at Anfield, just as it was under the arches.