England’s away following is neither as racist nor as violent as it used to be but the scenes in Seville did the country down and Gareth Southgate and co could have taken a stand
We appear to be in that period now that could probably be described as the backlash against the backlash. Social media have certainly been a frothy place since a few of my journalistic colleagues had the temerity to write about England abroad and how, in short, it can be a bit wearing treading through the broken glass or watching brave lads in expensive trainers trying to pick fights with stationary cars.
The people who make it their business to cause offence seem to be offended that anyone could possibly be offended, though I am not entirely sure they will get the irony bearing in mind a lot of the ones who have inserted the words “no surrender” into the national anthem and sing about the pope – more than they sing about, say, their own captain – also make the Irish pub their first port of call when visiting some of Europe’s more vibrant cities.
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