God Save the King was relentlessly booed by Welsh supporters ahead of Tuesday’s match against Northern Ireland in Cardiff. The two recently defeated World Cup play-off sides were meeting in a friendly, with the pair playing out a cagey 1-1 draw.
It wasn’t the occasion Wales fans had been hoping for, given they entered the international break dreaming of a play-off final to make it to the World Cup. Instead, Thursday’s semi-final defeat meant Craig Bellamy’s side had to settle for a hastily arranged friendly against Northern Ireland, who themselves were beaten by Italy in the play-off semi-finals.
However, the pre-match formalities were disrupted when loud jeers and boos rang out throughout God Save the King, the Northern Irish national anthem. Unlike the other home nations, Northern Ireland doesn’t have a unique national anthem, with the Green and White Army using the official anthem of the United Kingdom instead.
There was a sharp change in atmosphere when the Welsh anthem, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, otherwise known as the Old Land of My Fathers, started to play over the stadium’s PA system. The Welsh fans inside the Cardiff City Stadium belted out their own anthem, which translates to the Old Land of My Fathers in English.
Welsh fans have previously booed God Save the King, having done so during their 2022 World Cup clash against England. However, 10 years earlier, current Wales manager Bellamy was quizzed on how the anthem would be received when Team GB played a match at the Millennium Stadium during the 2012 Olympics.
Welsh and Scottish players from the 2012 men’s and women’s teams refused to sing the anthem during the Games, with Bellamy saying at the time: “I definitely expect it to be respected, I am not a big fan of that, with any nation their national anthems should be respected all around.
“I dislike it immensely as a player (when fans boo an anthem), even when it’s my own supporters who dislike a certain group or boo a national anthem, it leaves me very disappointed. I am not into that in any sport, not just football. Every national anthem, it doesn’t matter if it is your worst enemy, it’s just one or two minutes and you should be quiet and respect it and that should be the same for everyone.”
