Football
Everything you need to know about a Premier League guard of honour
Joe Lyons is a sports writer with years of experience on reputable sports and gambling websites. Joe has also been published by Nottingham Forest, working with the academy and senior teams to produce content on matchdays. He formerly covered the Premier League and EFL as an on-site reporter during the 2020/21 season for Prost International. He is an expert in a range of sports including soccer, basketball, horse racing and American football. Joe specialises in long form content alongside news, tips and betting. Joe has a keen eye for the sports betting industry in the USA which covers the NBA and NFL, tracking and analysing the market as it changes throughout the season.
Get to know Joe Lyons betterPublished27 Apr 2025
Liverpool will receive a guard of honour in each of their final four Premier League games after winning the title against Spurs on Sunday.
What is a Premier League guard of honour?
When a Premier League team has already sealed the title, in the remaining games opposition players stand in two parallel lines and applaud the champions as they walk onto the pitch.
Liverpool won a 20th top-flight crown after beating Spurs and each of their opponents until the end of the season will likely give them a guard of honour.
WATCH: Manchester City give Liverpool a guard of honour in 2020
It isn’t only seen in that scenario however and has other uses too, such as when a manager is taking charge of his final game or a player is featuring for one last time before hanging the boots up.
WATCH: Sir Alex Ferguson receives a guard of honour in last game in charge of Manchester United
Is a guard of honour mandatory?
No, a guard of honour is not mandatory – and teams don’t have to do it if they don’t want to. It isn’t written into any laws of the game and is completely voluntary.
However, with respect and tradition playing such a big part in football, it’s a normal occurrence.
The gesture is organised and agreed upon between both teams prior to kick-off.
Do Arsenal have to give Liverpool a guard of honour?
No, Arsenal don’t have to – but they probably will.
Here are Liverpool’s four remaining opponents in the Premier League who will likely give the Reds a guard of honour:
- Chelsea (A) – Sunday, May 4th
- Arsenal (H) – Sunday, May 11th
- Brighton (A) – Monday, May 19th
- Crystal Palace (H) – Sunday, May 25th
When was the guard of honour introduced?
The guard of honour was first introduced in the English game back in the 1954/55 season – and with the sport heavily reliant on tradition, it has remained in place ever since.
In April 1995, Chelsea had won the crown with a game to go and legendary United manager Sir Matt Busby wanted to acknowledge their achievement.
Chelsea’s captain that day, Roy Bentley, said Busby ensured the Blues ‘got the full red-carpet treatment’ and ever since it’s been a staple of the game.
The most famous Premier League guard of honour
One of the most iconic guard of honour moments came in 2013 when Arsenal applauded Manchester United onto the hallowed turf at the Emirates Stadium.
That United team included former Gooner fan favourite Robin van Persie, who departed the club a year prior to the Red Devils in search of silverware.
Van Persie scored 26 goals and tallied nine assists in 38 games, winning the Premier League golden boot.
The Arsenal faithful were less than impressed and boos rang around the stadium. The Dutchman itted years later he was uncomfortable in the moment.
“I didn’t like it. Some of them were my friends, I spent eight years there and I was just happy that it was over. I could see in their faces that they didn’t like it, which I get. And then you see me walking there, I was just happy that it was over,” Van Persie said.
“I think it’s a nice gesture to do towards the champions, but it just didn’t feel right, not for me and not for Arsenal. It was a little bit awkward there, so I didn’t feel really comfortable about that.”
WATCH: Arsenal give Robin van Persie’s Manchester United a guard of honour in 2013
Every Premier League team to have received a guard of honour
- Chelsea (1995)
- Arsenal (1972)
- Leeds United (1974)
- Liverpool (1979)
- Arsenal (1991)
- Manchester United (2003)
- Chelsea (2005)
- Manchester United (2007)
- Manchester United (2011)
- Manchester United (2013)
- Chelsea (2015)
- Leicester City (2016)
- Chelsea (2017)
- Manchester City (2018)
- Liverpool (2020)
- Manchester City (2021)
- Manchester City (2023)
Why have Real Madrid and Barcelona refused to give a guard of honour?
The tradition and respect associated with a guard of honour hasn’t always applied and El Clasico rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona are two teams to have gone against the grain in recent years.
It has happened between the two Spanish giants on three occasions in 1988, 1991 and 2008 – but that all changed in 2018 when everything went pear-shaped.
When Barcelona had already won LaLiga ahead of El Clasico at Camp Nou in May 2018, Madrid refused to honour the tradition in a decision headed by then-manager and club legend Zinedine Zidane.
The Frenchman claimed Barcelona ‘broke the tradition’ when they refused to give Madrid a guard of honour in El Clasico after his side won the Club World Cup in December 2017.
Barcelona’s manager at the time Ernesto Valverde defended that move, explaining it was outdated and wouldn’t expect one to be given to his side.
“A [guard of honour] was something done years ago as a symbolic tribute, as recognition between players, when football had not acquired this nuance that is contaminating everything.
“We do have recognition towards Madrid, for what they have achieved this year. On the notion of a guard of honour, I wouldn’t do it for anyone, nor would I want it to be done for us.”