Wales fans boo God Save The King anthem before Northern Ireland match

Wales fans booed God Save The King before their friendly against Northern Ireland on Tuesday night.

The two home nations played at the Cardiff City Stadium after their defeats in the World Cup play-offs last week.

Wales were beaten on penalties by Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Northern Ireland lost to Italy.

As both teams lined up for the national anthems, Wales supporters began to boo and jeer as God Save the King was played inside the stadium.

Wales supporters were also chanting ‘Wales, Wales, Wales’ during the anthem.

The game ended up as a 1-1 draw as Jamie Donley opened the scoring for Northern Ireland before Sorba Thomas netted the equaliser for Wales.

It is not the first time Wales supporters have booed the anthem after God Save The King was jeered before their game against England at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

While representing Team GB at the 2012 Olympics, Craig Bellamy, who is now Wales’ head coach, had called for the national anthem to be respected ahead of a game that was due to be played at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

‘I definitely expect it to be respected, I am not a big fan of that [booing], with any nation their national anthems should be respected all around,’ said Bellamy.

‘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.’

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