England fans in the FanZone, Malmo
As you probably know by now, I was out in Sweden for the semifinal and final of the U21 European Championships.
Obviously the final was a big disappointment, but we had a quality time whilst we were out there and it was great to see our boys in action (although we didn’t actually see Tomkins apart from during a half time kickabout!).
Something came to my attention yesterday though that I thought was worth raising today – just to see what other experiences people have had whilst travelling with England (at any level it would seem).
Yesterday it was revealed that Michel Platini was thought to be unimpressed with Stuart Pearce’s behaviour on the touchline during the final. Pearce states that maybe he was “overzealous”, but he was just “passionate about winning”.
The interpretation from Platini was that his rants were aggressive…
Make sure you behave
So, during the final there were a few guys on our row who throughout the whole game continued to leave their seats for food, phone calls, etc etc – up and down the whole 90 mins. Obviously when you’re trying to watch your team in a final, it’s not what you want. They never said excuse me or thank you at any point – kind of irrelevant but I wanted to paint a picture and all that.
I was sitting with another England fan, both in our England shirts, watching the football intently. At bad decisions, bad tackles or close efforts, we would both jump up and shout – kind of what you do at a football game. At least I thought.
At one point one of these suits who kept interupting our football stopped right in front of us and gestured towards us and said, “make sure you two behave”.
I couldn’t believe it. I don’t swear, so that wasn’t the problem. I wasn’t being violent, so no problem there either.
It just makes me think that us English are gravely misunderstood on the continent. Our passion for the game is clearly often misconstrued and our anger towards a decision or a bad tackle is interpreted as violent.
And after what Stuart Pearce was saying, it doesn’t seem to matter whether you are a fan or a manager, there is no place for passion or zealous ambition when England are involved….
Anyone else had any other experiences like this, or is it just me and my big loud mouth?
Sam
---------------------------
Real-time chat & banter about this post:
Yeh! Shut up Sam bloody trouble. Go the Irons for next season. Anyone know where you can get West Ham shirts without the hideous SBOBOT on the front, God its a eyesore.
Report This Comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Nigel, why not buy a training top, similar material, black, blue and silver to choose from – no sponsors logo.
The new SBO logo is better than some of our previous logos though . . . BAC windows, Dagenham Motors??
Report This Comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Dr Martins was my favourate – seemed to suit the hammers – coyi
Report This Comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Unfortunately, on the full international scene, the thuggish minority seems to be a much larger proportion than at league matches.It attracts a certain type.
Also, our outward aggression is perceived as extremely intimidating and frightening to other nationals attending these events. We are hardened to this culture and can sense the difference between harmless and harmful enthusiasm, but it really is our cultural problem and not theirs. I have seen a lot over the years, but I still cringe at some of the general behaviour (non violent) of england fans. Its not football. We just dont raise our children with the same level of respect and humility as our forefathers did.
Report This Comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Honestly one of the problems with the modern European game (both at club and national level) is the fact that Michel Platini is completely racist! He hates the English and will do anything to get them out of the champion’s league and international competitions!
If we look at the last International European Cup England weren’t even there and there was plenty of violence and rows, now if we look at Russia last year with Chelsea and Man U there was no violence with 2 English clubs!
This is very similar to Leeds United’s tag of ‘Dirty Leeds’ just because England fans used to be bad we always will be apparently!
I have been to a lot of games with different nations and to me we are no worse than the rest and much better than the Italians, Turkish and Spanish.
As I said it is just Michel Platini hating England and trying to give us a bad name!
.-= Matthew Read´s last blog ..The growing concern of players wages! =-.
Report This Comment
Like or Dislike:
0 
0