We explain history behind the guard of honour, an informal ceremony to pay respect to the Premier League champions<\/p>\n
A guard of honour is an informal ceremony that can take place when a team plays a match after already securing the Premier League title.<\/p>\n
The players of the new champions walk between two parallel lines of opposition players who stand and applaud their opponents.<\/p>\n
A guard of honour can take place regardless of whether the champions are playing at home or away.<\/p>\n
Liverpool<\/a> received a “guard of honour” from multiple Premier League opponents last season after clinching the title at the end of April.<\/p>\n Mikel Arteta said that Liverpool deserved to be given one by his Arsenal<\/a> team, who were Liverpool’s main title challengers that season.<\/p>\n “They deserve it,” Arteta explained. “They’ve been the better team. What their coaching staff have done…and they fully deserve it and that’s sport. When someone’s better you have to respect that.”<\/p>\n Liverpool also received a guard of honour from Chelsea<\/a> in the Reds’ first match after winning the 2024\/25 title, as well as from Brighton & Hove Albion<\/a>.<\/p>\n Is a guard of honour compulsory?\u00a0<\/p>\n There is no obligation or anything in the regulations that requires Premier League teams to provide a guard of honour. It is purely a voluntary show of respect for the achievements of their fellow professionals at another club.<\/p>\n Have there been any exceptions?\u00a0<\/p>\n The only time that the tradition was slightly different came when Liverpool won the 2019\/20 Premier League title with seven matches to spare during the pandemic-hit season, with all games played behind closed doors. Each of Liverpool\u2019s last seven opponents gave Jurgen Klopp<\/a>‘s side a guard of honour.<\/p>\n When has it happened in the Premier League?\u00a0<\/p>\n Sir Alex Ferguson<\/a>\u2019s Manchester United<\/a> team are thought to be the first Premier League side to receive a guard of honour, at Goodison Park in May 2003. It was offered by their opponents Everton<\/a> as the Red Devils had already been confirmed as champions prior to the match.<\/p>\n There have been 11 subsequent seasons when a guard of honour has taken place \u2013 with some champions enjoying the accolade on multiple occasions. Leicester City<\/a> were provided with one by both Everton and Chelsea, in the final matches of the Foxes’ fairytale 2015\/16 title-winning campaign, with ex-Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri applauded onto the pitch at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n Manchester City<\/a> walked out to a guard of honour four times following their 2017\/18 title success, but it was Liverpool, in the pandemic-hit 2019\/20 campaign, who have enjoyed the most to date, with seven occasions.\u00a0<\/p>\n There have been some highly memorable \u2013 and sometimes awkward \u2013 guards of honour over the years.<\/p>\n In 2004\/05, Man Utd, champions in the previous season, applauded Jose Mourinho<\/a>\u2019s Chelsea on to the pitch following their first-ever Premier League title success. There was little love lost between these two rivals and to rub salt into the wounds, Chelsea came from behind to win the match 3-1 at Old Trafford.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n There was a total role reversal a couple of years later, however, when Man Utd, having wrestled the title back from Chelsea, were treated to a guard of honour at Stamford Bridge. Arsene Wenger<\/a> and his Arsenal players applauded Van Persie and his team-mates, but there were boos aplenty from the home fans.<\/p>\n To add to the narrative, the Dutchman scored a penalty for Man Utd to secure a 1-1 draw.\u00a0<\/p>\n Examples of previous guards of honour<\/p>\n 2003 – Everton for Man Utd Individual guards of honour\u00a0<\/p>\n While a guard of honour is usually reserved for Premier League champions, there have been rare occasions when individuals have been honoured this way, most notably managers Ferguson, after bringing the curtain down on a glittering career at Old Trafford, and Klopp, on his last home match in charge of Liverpool in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n On the playing side, both Chelsea and Sunderland gave the Blues\u2019 captain John Terry<\/a> a guard of honour to mark his final game for the club in 2017 before joining Aston Villa. Chelsea then gave him a second guard of honour in the middle of the match itself when he was subbed off after 26 minutes.<\/p>\n
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One of the most compelling \u2013 and for the neutral, entertaining \u2013 occasions came in 2013 when Robin van Persie<\/a> returned to Arsenal<\/a> for the first time since leaving the Gunners for Man Utd the previous summer.<\/p>\n
2005 – Man Utd for Chelsea\u2019s first Premier League title\u00a0
2007 – Chelsea for Man Utd
2011 – Blackpool for Man Utd
2013 – Arsenal for Man Utd\u00a0
2015 – Liverpool for Chelsea\u00a0
2016 – Everton and Chelsea for Leicester\u00a0
2017 – Watford and Sunderland for Chelsea\u00a0
2018 – Swansea, West Ham, Huddersfield and Brighton for Man City\u00a0
2020 – Man City, Aston Villa, Brighton, Burnley, Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle for Liverpool\u00a0
2021 – Newcastle and Everton for Man City\u00a0
2023 – Chelsea for Man City
2025 – Chelsea and Arsenal for Liverpool<\/p>\n