Fans protest against disruption caused by Queen Elizabeth death

Fans of German football club Bayern Munich took it upon themselves to speak out against the disruption to fixtures following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, unveiling a banner during their Champions League match against Barcelona on Tuesday night.

The passing of the long-reigning UK monarch last week sent her nation into a period of mourning and led to the postponement of an entire round of Premier League football matches.

Three Premier League matches have also been postponed this weekend due to the demands on police resources, although seven will go ahead.   

Elsewhere, European fixtures involving British teams have been affected, with Glasgow Rangers’ Champions League game against Napoli being moved from Tuesday to Wednesday this week – with no Napoli fans to be in attendance.

The UEFA Europa League fixture between Arsenal and PSV Eindhoven planned for the Emirates Stadium in London on Thursday has been postponed.

Famously forthright in their demands for fans’ rights to be considered, a section of the Bayern faithful displayed a banner during the first half of their 2-0 victory at the Allianz Arena in Munich which read: “Last minute match delays and bans because of a royal’s death?! Respect fans!”

European matches involving English clubs went ahead as planned on Tuesday night, as Tottenham Hotspur suffered a late 2-0 defeat on their trip to Sporting Lisbon while Liverpool snatched a late 2-1 win against Ajax at Anfield.

Given Liverpool supporters’ past displays of animosity towards the UK ruling classes, there had been questions ahead of the match as to whether fans would observe the moment of silence in honor of Queen Elizabeth.

In the end, the majority of Reds fans remained silent for the tribute, although there were isolated jeers heard ringing out from the stands.