The Premier League and the rest of English football will no longer hold automatic minute’s silences for global disasters after agreeing such gestures were losing impact.
A working group across the various governing bodies was set up amid acceptance that tributes were becoming too commonplace but also inconsistent. Only international incidents with clear links to football will now trigger league-wide tributes.
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Evidence that tributes were being scaled back surfaced last month when only the Manchester clubs staged a minute’s silence in the top tier after the Manchester synagogue attack.
Players observe a minute’s silence for the victims of the Manchester synagogue attack ahead of the Premier League match between Manchester United and Sunderland at Old Trafford – Getty Images/Paul Ellis
That followed guidance from a World Events Working Group (WEWG), which was launched last year to help inform decision-making for leagues and the Football Association.
The FA is following the same guidance for Wembley’s arch, having previously stood accused of inconsistency after failing to light it up after the October 7 2023 terror attacks in Israel. The FA had previously lit the arch in solidarity with Ukraine. Now, however, the arch lighting and league-wide minute’s silences will only take place where there is a strong sporting connection with a global event. The WEWG will now always lead guidance to English football’s response amid increasing pressure on the game to become involved in international issues.
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Tensions caused by protests around the Israel-Palestine conflict have undoubtedly been a factor in football receiving clearer guidance.
As initially reported by The Times, however, WEWG protocols do not cover player-led initiatives, such as taking a knee.
Football will also continue to mark Remembrance Sunday, with poppies on shirts this week. Many clubs have links to the First and Second World War, with players lost during fighting.
In recent years, the Premier League held a minute’s silence across grounds to commemorate the victims of an earthquake in Morocco and the flooding disaster in Libya. It was concerned such tributes were losing impact.
The WEWG is made up of club representatives from all four divisions as well as the three football bodies.
