Rangers fans to sing God Save the King ahead of Napoli clash as UEFA confirm Celtic won’t hold minute silence with Shakhtar

Rangers fans are set to sing God Save the King ahead of their Champions League showdown with Napoli at Ibrox, despite UEFA rejecting requests from two British clubs to allow the national anthem to be played before kick-off.

According to the Daily Mail, the Light Blues and Chelsea asked for permission from European football’s governing body to play the anthem during their respective matches on British soil tonight.

UEFA confirmed they have received multiple requests over the issue but insisted they must remain consistent across all UK venues and subsequently denied the approach.

A statement read: “There will be no anthems played - this also includes the Uefa Champions League anthem - on the basis of maintaining a consistent pre-match ceremony with a subdued atmosphere and without any celebratory actctivies across all UK venues to show respects as we did last Thursday.”

However, Gers supporters are expected to defy UEFA’s advice, which could lead to a club fine if they proceed regardless and have decorated the entire Broomloan Stand with a Union Jack tifo display.

Supporters group the Union Bears posted on Twitter: “We ask that everyone holds up the material on their seat at the players enter the pitch and during the national anthem.”

Liverpool fans observed a moment of silence at Anfield for their match against Ajax on Tuesday, with players also wearing black armbands as a mark of respect to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who died at the age of 96 last Thursday.

The famous Champions League anthem won’t be played before kick-off but a number of additional measures will be in place for British clubs to pay their own tribute.

Meanwhile, Celtic will NOT hold a minute’s silence in memory of the Queen ahead of their clash with Shakhtar Donetsk in Warsaw.

It has reportedly been agreed at the pre-match briefing between the two clubs in Poland this morning that there would be no 60 second silence, with a decision on whether both sets of players wear black armbands still to be determined.

The Ukrainian champions had their own request to display anti-war message on the big screens inside the Polish Army Stadium granted by UEFA earlier this week, having been displaced from their home ground since 2014 due to ongoing conflict in the country.

Both Glasgow giants are still searching for their first points of the group stage after losing their opening round of fixtures against Real Madrdi (3-0) and Ajax (4-0) respectively.