Will Liverpool receive a guard of honour from Chelsea and is it compulsory?

The Premier League champions visit Chelsea after securing their second title in five years

Liverpool won their second Premier League title last weekend after picking up the point they needed with their win against Tottenham.

With four Premier League games to go, Arne Slot’s men now have an unassailable lead at the top of the table and will play their first game as champions against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

It is Liverpool’s second league title in five years – and 20th league title overall, drawing them level with Manchester United – but this time they will celebrate properly with their fans after being unable to do so in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.

The Reds will lift the trophy on the final day of the season before a likely parade through the city on Monday 26 May.

Yet will Liverpool receive a guard of honour at their remaining four Premier League games?

It is customary – but not officially compulsory – for the Premier League champions to receive a guard of honour, if they are crowned before the final game of the season.

The tradition, in which opposing teams line up to clap the opposing team as they enter the pitch, is seen as a mark of respect and dates all the way back to 1955, when Manchester United provided one for Chelsea.

United continued the tradition in 1991, while the gesture has been repeated in recent years for the champions.

However, there is nothing codified in the Premier League rulebook that teams have to give the champions a guard of honour. It is usually agreed between the two clubs beforehand, no matter how painful the circumstances.

For instance, in 2013, Arsenal gave a guard of honour to champions Man Utd – who had striker Robin van Persie in their starting XI. The Dutchman had joined United from Arsenal the previous summer.

Robin van Persie and Man Utd received a guard of honour at Arsenal in 2013 (Getty Images)

Liverpool have four matches left this season, with their next game away to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Manager Enzo Maresca confirmed they would offer a guard of honour to the new champions.

"Yes, it's tradition,” Maresca said. “We have to do that, and we are going to do that. They won the Premier League, so they deserve it."

The Reds gave a guard of honour to then-champions Chelsea in 2015 in similar circumstances.

The Reds then host Arsenal, which will present the excruciating prospect of Liverpool’s closest title rivals this season having to clap the champions out onto the pitch at Anfield.

Arsenal previously gave then-champions Liverpool a guard of honour in 2020 at the Emirates.

Liverpool close out their season away at Brighton before hosting Crystal Palace on the final day of the season, when they will lift the Premier League trophy.

It is anticipated that all four of Liverpool’s remaining opponents will provide a guard of honour to this season’s champions.

Liverpool received a guard of honour when they were crowned champions in 2020 (2020 Pool)

Has any club decided not to do a guard of honour?

Real Madrid refused to give a guard of honour – known as a ‘pasillo’ in Spain – for La Liga champions Barcelona in 2018.

Madrid manager at the time, Zinedine Zidane, explained his club’s decision on the basis that Barca refused to give a guard of honour for his team earlier in the season after they won the Club World Cup.

“They did not do it,” Zidane said. “We respect what Barca have done, to win La Liga is the most difficult, I have always said that. I congratulate them.

"If they had done the pasillo... I am not breaking any tradition, but neither will I do something that they did not do."

Players and coaches – such as Steven Gerrard at Liverpool and Sir Alex Ferguson at Man Utd – have also received guard of honours prior to their final home game for the club.