Liverpool could receive a few Guard of Honours this season.
The Reds could mathematically secure the Premier League title as early as April 20th if they win their next four games – which would see Arsenal give Liverpool a Guard of Honour, as well as Brighton, Chelsea, Tottenham and Crystal Palace.
For those unaware of what a Guard of Honour means, it is when a side lines up to applaud the champions onto the field, as you can see further down the article.
| Position | Team | Played MP |
Won W |
Drawn D |
Lost L |
For GF |
Against GA |
Diff GD |
Points Pts |
| 1 |  |
29 | 21 | 7 | 1 | 69 | 27 | 42 | 70 |
| 2 |  |
28 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 52 | 24 | 28 | 55 |
| 3 |  |
28 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 45 | 33 | 12 | 51 |
| 4 |  |
28 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 53 | 36 | 17 | 49 |
Arsenal players will surely feel a bit miffed if they end up having to give one to Liverpool – seeing as the Gunners were hoping to at least take the title race to the wire – and Gary Neville provided an insight into how it actually feels to partake in a Guard of Honour after missing out on the title when speaking back in 2013.
What Gary Neville said about the Guard of Honour
After Chelsea romped to the Premier League title in the 2004/05 campaign under Jose Mourinho – winning 29 of 38 games while conceding just 15 goals – Manchester United were one of the sides who had to give the Blues a Guard of Honour.
The Red Devils would have hoped to win the Premier League title that season too, and the look on some Manchester United faces as Chelsea walked out at Old Trafford suggested they were far from happy.
After the Telegraph made a point of how annoyed Neville looked as Lampard led that Chelsea side out at Old Trafford, the 50-year-old hilariously responded on X (previously known as Twitter): “Like your Mrs leaving you and being asked to hang the new bloke’s clothes up in your old wardrobe!!”
Like your mrs leaving you and being asked to hang the new blokes clothes up in your old wardrobe!!
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) April 26, 2013
Regardless of how irritated a Guard of Honour for Liverpool could make the current Arsenal squad feel, it surely won’t be as bad as when Robin van Persie was given one at the Emirates Stadium back in 2013 – just after leaving the Gunners for Manchester United.
Has any side refused to give a Guard of Honour?
In English football, the Guard of Honour is a well-respected tradition.
However, there have been some controversial moments in Scottish football, with Celtic refusing to respect the Guard of Honour for bitter rivals Rangers back in March 2021.
In Spain, Barcelona also failed to give Real Madrid a Guard of Honour for winning the FIFA Club World Cup in December 2017 – despite the fact it is usually reserved only for league winners.
This irked Zinedine Zidane, with the Frenchman later saying ahead of El Clasico in May 2018 after Barcelona had already won La Liga: “They did not do it (for us) and we, with respect, are not going to do it because they did not do it.
“We respect what Barcelona did, which is to win the league and is the most difficult thing for me, as I have always said. I congratulate them, and this is respect.”
