Arne Slot has defended the Crystal Palace supporters who disturbed a moment\u2019s silence for Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva before the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The brothers died on 3 July in a car accident in Zamora, Spain, after a suspected tyre blowout. The tragedy occurred only 11 days after Jota, a 28-year-old father of three, had married his long-term partner Rute Cardoso.<\/p>\n
While the majority of Palace fans stood and respectfully observed the silence, a small group could be heard chanting \u201cEagles\u201d. Other Palace supporters urged them to be quiet and Liverpool fans at the other end of the stadium booed, before the referee blew his whistle to signal the end of the tribute.<\/p>\n
But Slot suggested the Palace fans involved may not have been aware that the silence was taking place.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think this was planned,\u201d Slot said. \u201cMaybe the fan was not aware of the minute\u2019s silence and was happy and tried to cheer for his team, then the Palace fans tried to calm him down and our fans reacted. I don\u2019t think they had a bad intention.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a positive person. I look at the respect paid to Diogo and Andre across the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liverpool and Crystal Palace stand during a minute\u2019s silence (John Walton\/PA) (PA Wire)Liverpool continued their preparations for the new campaign while mourning the death of their Portuguese forward. Their first game of the summer was an emotional win over Preston North End, where fans chanted Jota\u2019s name throughout. There was also a moving performance of \u201cYou\u2019ll Never Walk Alone\u201d by Claudia Rose Maguire, wife of former Preston player Sean Maguire, before kick-off. <\/p>\n
At Wembley, Liverpool fans waved a banner displaying Jota holding the Premier League trophy with his shirt number, 20, which has since been retired by the club. <\/p>\n
Ahead of the Community Shield, Slot had told the FA website: \u201cThis summer has been difficult for everybody connected with the club. The passing of Diogo Jota had a big impact on all of us and is something that we are still coming to terms with. We cannot imagine the pain that Diogo\u2019s family, his wife, children and friends are going through, and the club will continue to give them all the support they can going forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cDiogo\u2019s passing has had a big impact on us all, but what has been so important has been the love and care shown from the football world, and in particular of course, the Liverpool FC community.<\/p>\n
\u201cI also want to mention the strength and the courage of my players here. They have found themselves in one of the toughest positions imaginable, but the way they have come together and the way they have conducted themselves, on and off the pitch, is a credit to them and to this football club. We really couldn\u2019t have asked more of the boys, and I am extremely proud of them all.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will always carry Diogo with us in our hearts, in our thoughts, wherever we go.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Arne Slot has defended the Crystal Palace supporters who disturbed a moment\u2019s silence for Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva before the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday. The brothers died on 3 July in a car accident in Zamora, Spain, after a suspected tyre blowout. The tragedy occurred only 11 days after Jota, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n