FWIW, my overriding take from the Euros and why England, yet again, gave every reason to swerve them when it comes to football-
I was
SO happy Italy won last night and saved us from everything that is wrong with this Country from winning out.
The disgusting, racial abuse directed at Rashford, Saka and Sancho overnight just rounds off a tournament where this nations underlying ills have been on FULL display to the World every game. From a Home Secretary who openly condoned and encouraged the fascists right to boo young men taking a stand against prejudice and racial equality. Through a sizeable group of Tory MP's trying to get people to not watch any England games down to the taking of the knee. All manifested in the stadium before every England game with the booing of their
own players before a ball was even kicked. And folk want to be associated with that .....
Really?!!!!!
The vast majority of the stadium continuing to wholeheartedly boo the National anthem of every opposition Nation they face. (Whilst then belting out one about a deity that may or may not exist, saving a Head of State who presides over a racially intolerant, xenophobic Establishment.
). Stellar respect for our European neighbours right there.
Roundly cheering and mocking a young German girl, a little
CHILD, who was caught on screen in tears.
And the seriously worrying stats about how domestic abuse goes up massively when England plays a game of football. Let alone what those figures are when they fail to draw or win .....
Euro 2020 was a really enjoyable, exciting tournament on the pitch. If poorly coached with some abysmal defending. mistakes. But that all lead to some really exciting games and upsets you wouldn't normally get. But for all the media spin of it
''bringing the Nation together' it's shone a glaring light on not just the level of overt racism in English society. But the National
resistance to it. FULL credit to Southgate and his players for continuing to stand up to, or in this case kneel down to, all the racists and fascists out there who wear the flag as some F up symbolic symbol of their seriously F up sense of patriotism and national identity that precludes ANYONE,
not English.
The last Saturday game England played (the Ukraine?), was the only time I've really noticed any English support here down to the usual out-of-town crowd coming to L'pool for the weekend to party. With chants of not only 'Ing-er-lund' across town, but songs about the IRA and German bombers ..... When they weren't even playing Ireland or Germany to start with! And then they wonder why the rest of Europe hates them?
And people genuinely wonder why you don't want to be associated with that and don't do England?
Now we can get back to proper football and being called '
murderers/ self-pitying 'et al all over the country from the very same fans who not only wanted us to forget all that for 4 weeks but who, yesterday, stormed the gates and broke into the ground. The very thing they've spent the last 30+ years accusing myself and every other survivor/ victim of doing. Irony and the English aye ..... ?
Grazie Azzurri. You saved the Country from itself.
www.bbc.co.uk
