Forest Green Rovers Apologise for Forgetting to Mark Remembrance Day

Forest Green Rovers owner Dale Vince has apologised after the club failed to mark Remembrance Day at their most recent home match, blaming the omission on “human error”.

The National League club’s fixture against Harrogate Town on October 31 passed without any commemoration of those who lost their lives in conflict since the First World War. In English football, it is customary for clubs to hold a minute’s silence at their nearest home game to Remembrance Sunday, which this year fell on November 8.

What happened

Forest Green did observe a minute’s silence before their 2-0 defeat at Luton Town in the first round of the FA Cup on Saturday, but the absence of any tribute at The New Lawn the previous week drew complaints from supporters.

A post on X showing the players observing the silence at Kenilworth Road prompted a wave of criticism, with fans pointing out that the club had failed to do the same at home.

The omission was particularly notable given the club’s willingness to use its matchday platform for political causes. Earlier this season, Forest Green attracted attention for flying the Palestinian flag at matches, a decision that prompted complaints to the FA and led to the loss of two sponsors.

Vince: ‘We should have got this right’

Responding to the issue at a meeting of the club’s Fan Advisory Board, Vince said: “The lack of Remembrance at a home game is simply down to a human error/mistake on the club.”

He added: “It didn’t help that we had a sizable number of games in a small time frame (including the FA Cup replay) beforehand; albeit that isn’t an excuse, we should have got this right.”

Vince stressed that the omission did not reflect any change in the club’s position or its support for the Royal British Legion and Remembrance. “This was a simple error/mistake,” he reiterated.

Palestinian flag backdrop

The timing of the Remembrance oversight has proved awkward for Vince, the founder of green energy company Ecotricity, who has made Forest Green one of the most politically outspoken clubs in English football.

The club hoisted the Palestinian flag at The New Lawn on matchdays earlier in the season, a move that drew a formal complaint to the FA from UK Lawyers for Israel and prompted two sponsors to sever ties with the club.

Forest Green issued a statement defending the decision. “Our support for the Palestinian people is not and never can be anti-Jewish or anti the people of Israel,” the club said. “It is anti the government of Israel and its armed forces, the people directly responsible for the atrocities the world has witnessed, not just recently but going back over fifty years.”

The statement added: “Football has a fantastic record of using its platform to challenge racism, sexism, homophobia and all other forms of prejudice. Standing up for Palestinian human rights belongs to that same tradition. Football does not exist in a moral vacuum.”

Steps to prevent a repeat

Vince said the club would contact the Royal British Legion for advice on how to handle future commemorations. Forest Green will also update their matchday planning sheet for next season to ensure the mistake is not repeated.

The club’s website had published an article on October 26, five days before the Harrogate fixture, outlining planned events for the coming weeks. “Looking ahead to the festive season, we will be launching our half-season tickets soon, a great Christmas gift idea; plus we have some special plans for November and December,” it read, though no mention of Remembrance was included.

A club seeking to rebuild trust

Vince, who has made Forest Green the world’s first certified vegan football club, recently acknowledged the need to improve engagement with supporters.

Writing on the club’s website, he said: “I have spoken to many supporters on matchdays, and although the overall view is very positive, it is clear there is still scope to improve; we can and always should aim to do better.”

The Remembrance oversight, coming at a time when the club was already navigating the fallout from its Palestinian flag stance and the loss of sponsorship income, will do little to ease those efforts.

An article on the Forest Green website instead noted the 11-year anniversary of the club becoming certified as vegan, underlining the contrast between the causes the club chooses to champion and the traditions it overlooked.