English national team booed by their own fans
Stand: 06.06.2021
Making a mark: Jack Grealish and Kalvin Phillips kneel down before kick-off
Quelle: dpa/Lee Smith
The symbolism is now known worldwide. When athletes go down with one knee, they protest against racism. The fans of the English national team also understand the sign. But they do not agree.
Es had already happened before the 1-0 test against Austria last Wednesday in Middlesbrough. When the England internationals went down with one knee before kick-off, they were amazed to receive boos from the audience.
An individual case? Possibly, it was thought. But even before the EM dress rehearsal on Sunday evening against Romania there was the loud receipt in Middlesbrough.
“First and foremost, we are all very disappointed that that happened,” said national coach Gareth Southgate. “I do not understand that. If you don’t agree with that, maybe you just can’t do anything. But in my opinion, chatting on your own team is a very strange reaction. “
The English fans at Middlesbrough disagree …
Source: Pool via REUTERS
… what you should think of the action of your team
Source: dpa / Darren Staples
Southgate spares regular workers
In terms of sport, the “Three Lions” around Jadon Sancho do not yet all come together. A week before the start of the European Football Championship against Croatia, the team prevailed 1-0 (0-0) against Romania. Attacker Marcus Rashford (68th minute) ensured the victory of the Southgates team with a penalty kick. The 17-year-old just missed his first international goal in the 83rd minute.
All matches, dates and results can be found in our 2021 European Championship schedule.
In his starting XI, Southgate had surprisingly also bet on James Ward-Prowse, Ben Godfrey and Ben White and thus on three players he had not appointed to his 26-man EM squad. Captain Harry Kane, for example, sat on the bench for the entire game. Nevertheless, England ultimately deserved to win. Sancho (38th) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (32nd) had hit the crossbar twice in the first round, Rashford finally made it better from the penalty spot. Jordan Henderson (78th) missed another penalty kick.
England’s footballers want to take a stand against racism, regardless of the boos from some fans, but also before the European Championship matches. The team had talked about it and they would also go to the ground with one knee in the run-up to the European Championship games, said national player Kalvin Phillips.
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