Liverpool play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge today in their first game since being crowned Premier League champions.
Arne Slot’s side demolished Tottenham 5-1 at Anfield last week to clinch a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title.
As a result, Liverpool players should be treated to a guard of honour as they walk onto the pitch for their final four games of the season against Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton and Crystal Palace.
But why do football teams give a guard of honour and could the Blues refuse to perform the tradition for the Reds today?
What is a guard of honour?
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A guard of honour takes place ahead of kick-off as the teams walk onto the pitch.
Instead of striding out side-by-side, the title-winning players walk in between the opposition team who stand and applaud.
A global tradition, its exact origins are unknown but it is said it was first performed in English football at the end of the 1954/55 season when Manchester United congratulated First Division champions Chelsea at Old Trafford.
The first guard of honour in the Premier League occurred in 2003 when champions Man Utd played Everton at Goodison Park.
Will Chelsea give Liverpool a guard of honour today?
There is no rule stating that teams must uphold the tradition but ahead of today’s clash, Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Chelsea will give Liverpool a guard of honour.
‘It’s tradition. We have to do that and we are going to do that. They won the Premier League, so they deserve it,’ the Blues head coach said.
‘In terms of the gap [between Chelsea and Liverpool], it is there, you can see this clearly. My feeling is we are [moving] in the right direction and hopefully this gap can be smaller and smaller and smaller.
‘I don’t think we need that [a guard of honour] to understand how good it is to win the Premier League. I think we know that it’s something very nice. But for sure, when you are there, probably in their mind, our players are thinking, “I would like one day to be there”.’
It remains to be seen whether Arsenal, Brighton and Palace will follow suit, the Gunners especially as they were Liverpool’s closest title rivals.
Guard of honours ‘awkward’ and ’embarrassing’
Not everyone is a fan of the guard of honour, including Man Utd legend Rio Ferdinand who told TNT Sports: ‘I’ve been fortunate enough to receive the guard of honour and be on the receiving end of it and both are quite awkward.
‘Embarrassing. It’s not what I would choose to be walking out to just because you’ve won the league. Lifting the trophy is enough.’
‘I don’t like it. Maybe it shows respect but I just don’t get it,’ former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch added.
‘It’s a bit embarrassing for the team that come out and it’s totally embarrassing for the team clapping them on the field. Not for me.
‘Even the players who are walking through that, I don’t think they want to do it. I don’t get the sentiment, I don’t know what it achieves.’
Iconic guard of honours in English football over the years
After wrapping up the title in 2005, Chelsea were given a guard of honour by Man Utd at Old Trafford, an experience Gary Neville described as: ‘Like your Mrs leaving you and being asked to hang the new bloke’s clothes up in your old wardrobe!’
There was an extremely awkward moment at the Emirates in 2013 when Arsenal gave Man Utd’s players – including former Gunners hero Robin van Persie – a guard of honour, while the home crowd relentlessly jeered the striker
‘I didn’t like it. Some of them were my friends, I spent eight years there and I was just happy that it was over,’ the Van Persie later said.
‘I could see in their faces that they didn’t like it, which I get. And then you see me walking there, I was just happy that it was over.
‘I think it’s a nice gesture to do towards the champions, but it just didn’t feel right, not for me and not for Arsenal. It was a little bit awkward there, so I didn’t feel really comfortable about that.’
Should football teams give guard of honours?
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Yes, it’s traditional and respectful
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No, it’s embarrassing for all players
Has a team ever refused to give a guard of honour?
There have been notable occasions in world football where a guard of honour was not given, none more so then in Spain where El Clasico rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid flat out refuse to perform the tradition for each other.
After winning their first Premier League title in 2020, Liverpool were given a guard of honour by major rivals Manchester City – but fans were quick to spot that Citizens star Bernardo Silva had refused to clap the Reds on.
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