Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk voiced his disappointment after a section of Crystal Palace supporters interrupted the minute’s silence for Diogo Jota and Andre Silva ahead of Sunday’s Community Shield at Wembley.
The match — between Premier League champions Liverpool and FA Cup winners Palace — finished 2-2 in normal time before the Eagles triumphed 3-2 on penalties to lift the trophy for the first time in their history.
Dean Henderson saved from Alexis Mac Allister and Harvey Elliott, Mohamed Salah blazed over, and Justin Devenny struck the decisive kick.
But it was what happened before kick-off — after both sets of fans had been asked to stay quiet as a mark of respect for ex-Liverpool striker Jota and his younger sibling, who both died in a car crash last month — that disappointed Van Dijk most.
‘Yes, I am disappointed, said Van Dijk. ‘That is the only thing I can say. I don’t know who did it but there was plenty trying to shush it down so obviously that doesn’t help it.
‘But it is what it is. You can’t control how many fans were here? Was it 80,000 people? So it’s disappointing to hear that but if that person or those persons can go home and be happy with themselves, then…’
Asked about the incident which led to referee Chris Kavanagh having to blow the whistle early and cut short the tribute, Liverpool boss Arne Slot said that he didn’t believe there was any ‘bad intention’ from the Palace fans.
‘I am a positive person. If I look at the respect that has been paid to them both from everywhere around the world then this is what I have in my head,’ he said.
‘I don’t think this was planned. Maybe they weren’t aware that it was a minute of silence. Then the fans of Palace were trying to calm that person or those persons down.
‘So I don’t think there is a bad intention to it because the fans of Crystal Palace and fans around the world have paid huge respect to Diogo and Andre. We will see on Friday when Bournemouth come to Anfield just how respectful that will be.
‘It’s also five weeks ago. That’s why maybe this fan was just so happy for them (Palace) to be here in the Community Shield that he forgot in that second.’
Palace had twice come from behind in normal time before Henderson’s heroics in the shoot-out. Salah missed from the spot, while Henderson denied Mac Allister and Elliott, allowing Devenny to convert the winning penalty and spark wild celebrations among the south Londoners.
Palace boss Oliver Glasner admitted that he wouldn’t swap their success for a win in the courtroom on Monday, when the Eagles are expected to find out if they will be reinstated into the Europa League, insisting that days winning silverware at Wembley will live with the fans forever.
Palace were demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League after being found to have breached UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules. They appealed and a decision is expected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday.
‘No, we will accept the outcome,’ said Glasner. ‘In this performance the players showed and proved in an excellent way that they didn’t think about what’s happening.
‘We have no influence so we will celebrate and then meet for lunch and training after. Then we will schedule the rest of August – if we stay in the Conference League, we have more games to play.’
Palace, who hadn’t won a major trophy in their history until this year, have now won two in three months after beating Manchester City to win the FA Cup in May.
‘We showed the players a video before we went to Wembley about the happiness of the fans winning the FA Cup,’ revealed Glasner.
‘This is the emotional reward. You can’t buy it for all the money in the world and our fans deserved it. They are always supporting us and pushing the team forward and it is a great connection. We were all rewarded and this stays forever.’
