God Save the King was brutally booed by Welsh supporters ahead of Tuesday’s match against Northern Ireland in Cardiff. The two teams, who recently lost in the World Cup playoffs, met in a friendly that resulted in a narrow 1-1 draw.
It wasn’t the opportunity Wales fans were expecting, given they went into the international break with dreams of making it to the play-off final for a spot in 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 lost to Italy in the play-off semi-final.
However, pre-match proceedings were interrupted by loud jeers and boos during the performance of Northern Ireland’s national anthem, God Save the King. Unlike other home countries, Northern Ireland does not have its own national anthem, instead the Green Army and White Army use Britain’s official national anthem.
The atmosphere suddenly changed when the Welsh national anthem Hen Ulad Fay Nadau, also known as ‘Old Land of Our Fathers’, began to play over the stadium’s PA system. Wales fans inside Cardiff City Stadium belted out their own national anthem, which means “Old Land of Our Fathers” in English.
Wales fans have booed God Save the King before, and they did so during the 2022 World Cup match against England. But 10 years earlier, when Team GB played at the Millennium Stadium during the 2012 Olympics, current Wales manager Bellamy was asked about how the national anthem would be received.
In 2012, players from Wales and Scotland on the men’s and women’s teams refused to sing the national anthem during the tournament, but Bellamy said at the time: “I definitely expect the national anthem to be respected, but I’m not a big fan of that. The national anthem should be fully respected in any country.”
“As a player, I really hate[when fans boo the national anthem]. Even if my supporters don’t like a certain group or boo the national anthem, it’s very disappointing. I don’t care about that in any sport, not just soccer. It doesn’t matter whether it’s your worst enemy or not. It’s just a minute or two and you should quietly respect it and it should be the same for everyone.”
