What We Should Take Away from England's Euros Loss
'The cultural value of the game gives it a unique emotional significance, but no amount of passion excuses intemperate, discriminatory and damaging behaviour'
Kayani Menon, LLB Law 28/10/2024
Football is a game. 22 players dribbling a black and white ball for 90 minutes. However, to so many people, it is much more than that. The love of the game runs deep in a uniting manner, almost akin to a religion. Starting at the grassroots level, moving up to the multiple professional leagues, football provides fans with a sense of community and belonging which one might not find elsewhere. The shared experience of supporting a team through highs and lows has shown to be a major force in creating memories and forging connections. In England, particularly, the sport finds a dedicated fanbase. A YouGov poll found that in 2024 football is the most followed sport in the country, ‘with a 41% live viewership’. In comparison, tennis, the second most popular sport in the same poll, ‘only holds an 18% viewership’. The fans are an active part of the spirit of football, be it the audience at the stadium or those cheering from their local pub. They show up and show out for their team, complete with a half-and-half scarf and a pint, singing one of many cheeky chants. This passion is manifold during international matches, such as the recently concluded Euros.
Unfortunately for Lions fans, the cup did not come home. For a second Euros finals in a row, the Southgate-managed team came up short. The road to the finals was not the smoothest one for the team, including unexpected draws when England was touted to have majority possessions. Most match commentary included criticism for lacklustre play with only moments of inspiration, these bursts of inspiration bode the team over to the finals. Players were criticised for not adjusting to the new system of play, and not living up to their usual club level of football. Manager Gareth Southgate remained the primary target for criticism as he tried to fit these players to his system that clearly was not working, instead of making adjustments to avail the full potential of players.
Spain won the tournament deservedly with their poetic passing and focused finishing. England countered with their age-old problem of an unbalanced midfield and rather ambitionless movement in the first half. Harry Kane looked unfit and had yet another bad night. Bellingham failed to generate a major fire. Cole Palmer's equaliser gave brief hope but Spain immediately reacted with even more passing and creativity, winning them the cup shortly after. Despite an abundance of individual talent, Southgate failed to create the synergy of a maximally optimised team.
The team, naturally, was upset with the outcome. Their supporters were as well. And while that is more than understandable, the destructive behaviour of some fans after the loss is incomprehensible. Violence broke out among England fans in Berlin and in the UK. In London, six football related arrests were made, including alleged assault, according to the Metropolitan Police. A total of 77 arrests were made in Germany involving England supporters, reports the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU). There is evidence of fans brawling in the first half itself, before a single goal had been scored! These clashes come after some of the worst scenes of rioting seen in England during the 2020 Euro finals, when ticketless fans caused a mass breach of security to gain access into Wembley. These are not isolated instances of disorder, as England’s football supporters have a long history of abuse and violence within the fandom. This is part of a broader fan problem that extends to racism, sexism and xenophobia.
Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were all victims of racist abuse after they missed during the penalty shootout in the last Euros final. The then 20-year old Saka said he knew ‘instantly’ that he would receive racist hate. Police briefed players on the all-too-familiar threat of online racist abuse, even before the tournament began, this time around. However, there has not been nearly enough consideration given to this systemic issue from policymakers despite the devastating effect racial trauma can have on victims.
There also exists a concerning link between domestic abuse and the losses of the England men’s football team. A 2013 study by Lancaster University found that the risk of domestic abuse rose by 26% when the team won or drew, and by 38% when the team lost. These figures have not gone down, even over a decade later. In the first week of the Euros 2024 tournament, the Leeds Domestic Violence Service reported that there had already been a rise in reported domestic abuse incidents.
The cultural value of the game gives it a unique emotional significance, but no amount of passion excuses intemperate, discriminatory and damaging behaviour. The beautiful game is marred by this sect, which is so unfortunate because the game holds a special place in the lives of so many. There is no quick fix to this pressing problem, but there is a need for continued education and awareness on this ugly underbelly of football culture.
