Both Northern Ireland and England may no longer be be allowed play God Save the Queen.
A bill is being proposed in the House of Commons, ingeniously titled ‘The National Anthem Bill’, that would require each football team of the United Kingdom to play a unique anthem.
Currently both England and Northern Ireland use God Save the Queen, but the minister proposing the bill doesn’t think one country of the union should use an anthem that’s meant to represent the entire union.
“I have nothing against God Save the Queen but that is the national anthem of the United Kingdom,” Labour MP Toby Perkins said.
“England is a component part of the UK but it competes as a country in its own right and I think a song that celebrated England rather than Britain would be more appropriate.”
Should the motion pass a public consolation would take place, and a new anthem would be selected.
The anthem has been a controversial feature of the Northern Ireland team with members of the nationalist community in the country.
Jim Shaw, the Irish FA President said: “The national anthem debate is one of the most divisive in our history. We’ve been debating it for years. If we keep it, we annoy people and we know if it goes, there will be plenty of angry supporters.”
