England’s manager has handled the Raheem Sterling incident well but cynics might argue it was an easy step for this fixtureGareth Southgate and England have just dealt with a modern problem in a pleasingly modern way. Over the course of 999 previous internationals it stretches credulity to imagine nothing like the contretemps between Raheem Sterling and Joe Gomez has been seen before, but the vast majority of England get-togethers took place in eras when it was perfectly possible and reasonable to hush things up and keep any small-scale disturbances in house.These days that is not so easy, and before social media could have a field day with speculation and jigsaw identification England fronted up and laid the matter to rest....
While news of Uefa’s sanctions on Bulgaria was breaking, Haringey were facing Yeovil in take-two of an FA Cup tie in which racism caused a player walk-offThe English reaction to Uefa sanctions for racist incidents is now so predictable as to be almost comforting: general, immediate scorn, and another airing for Nicklas Bendtner’s boxer shorts. The deluge began this time within seconds of Uefa announcing its disciplinary committee’s verdict on the shocking abuse from a section of Bulgaria’s supporters, targeted at England’s black players during the European Championship qualifying match on 14 October.The sanction – a full stadium closure for Bulgaria’s next international match, a second full closure suspended for two probationary years, and a €75,000 (£64,800) fine – is...
The most promising of England’s teenage footballers is Dortmund’s next dividend but the money game needs to be played right and there have been some problems“Whom the gods wish to destroy they first call promising.” Good news, then, for Jadon Sancho, who seems at every step of his footballing life to have skipped the age of promise and gone straight on to the role of luminous, fully realised talent.The kind of promise Cyril Connolly’s famous dictum had in mind was fragile literary talent, specifically his own crushing failure, despite having, like, done really well at Eton, to write a literary classic … a failure Connolly later turned to success, with a very English sense of charm-laden irony, by writing about...
It was not that long ago Raheem Sterling was being vilified by sections of English press and supporters, and hypocrisy has been rife since Monday’s debacle in SofiaThere has scarcely been a more breakneck reverse ferret than the support now shown by some sections of Her Majesty’s press for Raheem Sterling. You love to see it. Certain papers who cheerily trashed Sterling for so long, for reasons they could never quite put their finger on – but he could – recently seem to have become dimly sentient about the existence of racism.The truly hideous scenes during England’s twice‑halted 6-0 win over Bulgaria on Monday apparently marked a coming of age, with various outlets and pundits now turning on Uefa for...
Intimidation, casual vandalism and generally treating locals like un-people is also a form of xenophobiaBread, circuses and England defeats. One upshot of England’s alarmingly limp performance in Prague was that it diverted attention, however briefly, from a topic always seemed likely to dominate the noises off around Monday night’s game against Bulgaria in Sofia.Not so fast. England abroad: it is in many ways the never-ending story. Albeit one that seems in recent years to have involved shining a fearless light on the failings of others, even while the German bombers continue to fall, the Pope gets fucked and the bottles fly across the Baroque town squares. Ever wondered what other countries make of this myopia, the ability to say all...