Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and head coach Arne Slot reacts to the disrupted minute's silence for Diogo Jota at Wembley before the Community Shield against Crystal Palace
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 10: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool walks out of the tunnel during the 2025 FA Community Shield match between Crystal Palace and Liverpool at Wembley Stadium on August 10, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Virgil van Dijk, captain of Liverpool, walks out of the tunnel during the Community Shield match against Crystal Palace at Wembley
(Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk admits he was disappointed to hear the minute's silence for Diogo Jota forcibly cut short due to fans' disruption at Wembley. The Reds met Crystal Palace in the Community Shield on Sunday and were beaten on penalties after a 2-2 draw in normal time.
The short period of silence before the annual curtain raiser was planned for Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, who both died in a car accident in northern Spain in the early hours of Thursday, July 3.
However, the efforts were stopped after it was interrupted by a smattering of Palace fans, which was met by subsequent boos from the Liverpool end.
Asked about the failure to mark the passing of his team-mate with the traditional mark of respect, Van Dijk, speaking after the penalty-shootout loss, said he was unhappy how the scenes played out.
Van Dijk said: "Yes, I am disappointed. That is the only thing I can say. I don't know who did that but there was plenty trying to shush it down but obviously that doesn't help it.
"But it is what it is. You can't control how many fans were here today? Was it 80,000 people in the stadium?
"So, yeah it is disappointing to hear that but if that person or those persons can go home and be happy with themselves, then..."
Liverpool officially retired their No.20 in honour of Jota last month following his death at the age of 28 and head coach Arne Slot added: "I am a positive person and if I look at the respect that has been paid to them both from everywhere around the world, this is what I have in my head.
"I don’t think this was planned or it was the idea of the fan that made some noise. Maybe he wasn’t aware that it was a minute of silence. He was just still happy and tried to cheer for his team.
"Then the fans of Palace were trying to calm that person or those persons down. I don’t think he had a bad intention the guy or people that made noise.
"Then they tried to calm them down then that was a bit noisy as well and our fans reacted with: ‘Hey, what’s happening here?’
"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.
"This was an unlucky. I don’t think there was bad intention. We will see Friday when Bournemouth come to our stadium how respectful that will be.
"It’s also one, one and a half month ago I think, five weeks ago. That’s why maybe this fan was just so happy for them to be here in the Charity Shield that he forgot in that second."