All of Europe will be celebrating Italy’s victory in the European Nations championship last night not just because Italy won and by far played the best soccer, but because England lost. In that loss will be distilled civilised Europe’s distaste for the ugly racism which fueled the Brexit campaign, propelled the nastiest Tory government and most unworthy prime minister in English history into office and now mars the national game, features of modern English society which were on view and audible to the whole world during this tournament.
The shocking racism which was exhibited in the boohing of the Danish national anthem, the chorale of one of Europe’s smallest and most inoffensive countries, was disgraceful but it was typical of the xenophobic nastiness which was released from the poisonous Brexit bottle and which now has a prominent, even defining place in the moral core of English society.
So deep and rancid is the racism in English society today that it even found its ugly expression in bigotry against the non-White members of the English team in the aftermath of Italy’s deserved victory, as the FA itself was obliged to admit, as The Guardian reported last night:
‘In more deeply depressing news, several England players including Bukayo Saka have been subjected to racial abuse on social media after the match. The FA has released a statement condemning the abuse and calling for “accountability and action”.
The English Football Association was forced to issue this statement:
“The FA strongly condemns all forms of discrimination and is appalled by the online racism that has been aimed at some of our England players on social media. We could not be clearer that anyone behind such disgusting behaviour is not welcome in following the team. We will do all we can to support the players affected while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible.
“We will continue to do everything we can to stamp discrimination out of the game, but we implore government to act quickly and bring in the appropriate legislation so this abuse has real life consequences. Social media companies need to step up and take accountability and action to ban abusers from their platforms, gather evidence that can lead to prosecution and support making their platforms free from this type of abhorrent abuse.”
Fine words butter no parsnips, as we say Ireland. The time for talk has ended. England should be banned from European competitions until it confronts the racism that now courses through the national veins and which blights the national game.
The Broken Elbow 
Racism also pervades Italian football as well. Should the Italian national side be banned from international competition?
There’s a certain amount of irony in people refusing to support England because of colonialism, but happily supporting a country that pioneered fascism.
The oligarchs are whipping up the mob. The mob is not the working class.
In numbers it is petty bourgeois who make up the bulk of the fascist thugs.
And the mob is being encouraged because its role is to smash working class organisation and political struggle.
The furore around England’s progress in this football championship is nothing new off course. Only it has become more extreme.
The relentless PR campaign in Britain, directed from the dark corridors of the state machine, strains every sinew to bend the football tournament into a jingoistic celebration of English patriotism.
The main sleight of hand used by the spin merchants has been to enmesh the identity politics of racialism into this patriotic frenzy.
Thus, we all, black and white, are one in the same English nation.
The white Harry Kane, and the black Raheem Sterling, are both integral to this England team: and to the one English nation. Progressive patriotism!
The team’s football has been woeful. They got an extremely soft progress through the rounds. Playing no good teams.
When they met their first serious challenge in the semi-final against Denmark they were seriously rattled.
They went through in that game because of a blatant dive by Sterling in the penalty box, that the video officials refused to review. England stole, or were given. the game.
There is a unity between Kane and Sterling. They are both notorious divers who have no qualms in cheating to win a game. Such ‘values’ off course are part and parcel of rotten nationalist outlooks.
Football is thee working class sport the world over.
At the professional level it is owned by big business.
Sterling’s dive, and those of Kane, are rejected wholesale by football fans around the world, and in England; but the aims of British imperialism in attempting to whip up nationalist shit, mean the voices of the ordinary fans are not allowed to be expressed.
This is Southgate’s letter:
https://www.theplayerstribu…
One knows this anyhow; but going by the limited comment that slips out,one might hear on late night talk radio for instance, there is no patriotic frenzy in England. Though the media try to portray there is.
It reminds me of the supposed masses that tore down Sadamm Hussein’s huge statue in Baghdad upon the American onslaught on Iraq. However, that was a ‘tight shot’ that was broadcast around the world. On the BBC and CNN.
Later, more footage, as the camera panned back at that same event, showed that the ‘mass’ crowd was only a few hundred.
The British mass media has continually shown a set of working class flats bedecked in the reactionary English flag of St George. A flag intimately associated with English fascism. Suggesting the flag is everywhere, especially in working class areas.
However, comments from others have said they travel for hours and see hardly a flag.
One caller to LBC radio said he was stopped in the street and given a St George’s flag by a carload of men distributing them wholesale.
The PR campaIgn by the capitalist ruling class is relentless. A sign of their terror at the prospect of the advancing working class battle for socialism; but that terror in the nightmares of the oligarchy, also means they are planning terror to destroy the working class.
The UK LBC late night show was Nic Abbot, Friday to Sunday, from 10pm.
Like most of us he has many blind spots; but it is a program that expresses something other than the waves of establishment lies.
Jonathan Pie, no one says it better:
Ed – as much as you are right about the perpetual racism in a part of British society (specifically, the part that likes to attend football matches and get very drunk), you are letting off the other European countries far too lightly. Italians are and always have been shockingly contemptuous of their own black minority. In France, muslims are expected to put up the Government trying to crush any outward sign of their religion or culture – that is Government Policy! And in the Eastern European countries, racism isn’t even considered a bad thing – which is why Jews and now Roma (Gypsy) people have been routinely persecuted. I’ve travelled around the world, and all I can say is that Britain is one of the sanest places to live (though there are some others too).
To add to this horrific debacle, it appears another Hillsborough was narrowly avoided. This is another story no one’s talking about, because reading between the lines, the police stayed away to avoid confrontation and preserve the cheap narrative of ‘national unity’ and ‘jubilation.’ On a more optimistic note, it probably means England’s chances of ever hosting the World Cup are over.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/inside-storming-wembley-knife-threat-24520037
The evening kick off probably contributed to the chaos as it gave fans the opportunity to get inebriated all day. Most high profile fixtures e.g. . Celtic v Rangers; Newcastle v Sunderland, Cardiff v Swansea are staged around noon to prevent or minimise this scenario. Ticketing policy and implementation failed miserably it seems.
Lauren, it probably means that the joint UK/Ireland bid for to host 2030 World Cup is doomed. Be careful what you wish for.
Interesting analysis of the source of the online abuse and how difficult it will be to eradicate. Highlights the fact that racist abuse is not confined to England (maybe we listen and read more about it because if our common language) and as stated above endemic in many other European countries.
https://order-order.com/2021/07/14/70-of-footballer-racist-abuse-coming-from-overseas/