Arne Slot and Virgil van Dijk have had their say after the minute’s silence in tribute to Diogo Jota and his brother was cut short at Wembley due to disruption from the Crystal Palace end.
There was a sense of disbelief when loud noises emanated from the Palace end during what was to be a moment of silence to honour Jota and his brother Andre.
It was a loud minority that elicited a strong response from the Liverpool end, and those within the Eagles’ end, but ultimately referee Chris Kavanagh blew the whistle early.
It left a bitter taste, and supporters were not the only ones disappointed, with Van Dijk later saying to reporters: “Yes, I am disappointed.
“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.
LONDON, ENGLAND - Sunday, August 10, 2025: Liverpool and Cystal Palace players line up for a period of silence in memory for Diogo Jota and Andre Silva before the FA Community Shield match between Crystal Palace FC and Liverpool FC at Wembley Stadium. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
“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..”
Slot, meanwhile, sought to play down any sense of ill intent from Palace.
“I don’t think this was planned, or that this was the idea of the fan that made some noise. Maybe he wasn’t aware of the fact that it was the minute of silence,” Slot said.
“He was just still happy and tried to cheer for his team. And I think then the fans of Palace were trying to calm that person or those persons down, so I don’t think he had a bad intention, the guy or people that made noise.
“They tried to calm him down, but that was a bit noisy as well. And then our fans reacted, ‘Hey, what’s happening here?’
“So I don’t think there’s a bad intention to it, because the fans of Crystal Palace and everywhere around the world have paid huge respect to Diogo and Andre and this was I think unlucky or, I can’t find the right words, but I don’t think there was a bad intention in it.
“We will see Friday, when Bournemouth come to our stadium, how respectful that is going to happen.
“It’s also five weeks ago, so that’s why maybe this fan who was just so happy for them to be in the Community Shield that he forgot in a second.”
An apology on behalf of Crystal Palace fans
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Friday, August 8, 2025: An aerial view of a mural dedicated to Liverpool's number 20 Diogo Jota. The mural was painted in tribute to the Liverpool player who died in a car crash in July and has been adorned with messages written by supporters. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Five Year Plan, a Palace fanzine and podcast, has since apologised on behalf of Palace fans after initially explaining fans did not realise what was going on after trouble getting into the stadium.
“A word on the Jota silence incident,” they penned. “A lot of our fans had difficulty getting into the ground. Stewarding was a mess. Some came into the concourse without realising what was going on.
“All we can do is apologise. It’s a disappointing thing to have happened and we’re sorry.”
They later added: “Some of our own fans have said people did boo. Which is really disappointing.
“Jota’s death shocked us. We can’t believe people would boo any memorial to him. Let alone our own fans. “We can’t speak for them but we can apologise for their actions. So we’re sorry.”