My thoughts surrounding the Italy vs England game, Wembley, social media and inclusivity in football.
I wasn't going to post this on my LinkedIn, however I put this on my Instagram and received a lot of positive feedback and messages, so thought I would share here too. Although it has little to do with my professional life, I think that it is important to speak on this.
It also is probably not the most well-written piece ever, but covers my thoughts around the Italy vs England game and everything surrounding it.
So I have spent most of this week not thinking about the result (although it hurts) but thinking more about what I had seen and heard both online and at Wembley.
I left Wembley feeling alienated. I saw people throwing glass bottles, pushing through security to get in, Italian fans being intimated and their belongings taken and thrown, people destroying things etc and have heard multiple other stories from other people including full cans and bottles being thrown as missiles and kids crying to be taken home as they were so scared. Wembley Way pre-match was not a nice experience. It was hostile and full of people who were off their heads and just there to cause carnage, not actually really interested in the football. I’ve spoken to other England fans there who felt the same and the scenes from Leicester Square were awful too. Even inside the stadium things felt off, including a fan behind me berating Declan Rice the whole game, who gave a really good showing for his country and should be proud.
I felt alienated because this was not the football that I love, and this was not the sort of fan I want to be associated with. Make no mistake, all English fans will be tarred with this reputation worldwide now and I can see why. I woke up to messages on my Instagram Monday calling me a ‘dirty English bastard’, and that is how the world sees us English football fans. It was by no means all England fans, however it was more than a small group of people.
I went to the game with three of my brothers and the feeling the next day was not ‘that was incredible and I am gutted about the result’ but instead ‘I don’t think I want to go to another England game’. That’s sad, but I felt similar.
The atmosphere at the Germany game, the only other game I went to, was completely different. It was much more jovial, everyone having a great time, people being respectful even if they had been drinking. The vibe at Wembley for the final was not that at all.
Onto the racist abuse. For the online abuse, yes this may not be completely England fans but you and I all know some of them are. Social media platforms need to take accountability and can not let this continue. How comes after the Matt Hancock scandal searching his name on Twitter leads to no results, but you can’t permanently block and ban users sending monkey emojis, using racial slurs etc?
This was then mirrored in real life by the mural of Marcus Rashford being vandalised. The same 23 year old Marcus Rashford who fought for free school meals during a pandemic whilst our actual leaders voted against it. Disgraceful. Not that any racism should be tolerated, regardless of what someone has done.
Gareth Southgate and the team have built an England team to be proud of but so many England ‘fans’ have let us down. Yes it’s not all fans, but I saw enough on Sunday to know it’s not just a very small minority, but there’s actually quite a lot of them.
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The football that I want to be apart of is inclusive and welcoming, not dividing and hostile.
adidas have put on safe space events during the Euros to help create an inclusive environment for the football, and have also recently teamed up with Common Goal to donate 1% to help fight discrimination, racism and promote LGBTQ+ inclusion.
Nike are also running events around London for not only football but other sports too, to make them more inclusive and have just started their ‘New Football’ campaign around inclusivity in football no matter who you are and leaving the hate behind.
BT have also run their Hope United campaign throughout the Euros, encouraging people to not spread hate online and the way it can make others feel.
Art of Football are also releasing three limited edition t-shirts for 24 hours with profits going to Football Beyond Borders, an organisation who support young people from disadvantaged backgrounds through the medium of football.
These are examples of inclusion. That is the football I want to be a part of, not this pissed-up toxic culture where you feel you can cause carnage anywhere you go and that it’s funny. It’s not.
I’m not a brand or a big name in the ‘football community’ but I wanted to talk about the actions of the past few days. I want people to feel that they can be involved in football in football and I want to see the ‘new’ England that Southgate and co have created reflected across our fans and online. An England we can be proud of, not embarrassed by.
Founder @ Verde | The Fashion SEO Expert | SEO for Fashion, Luxury & Sports E-Commerce Brands
3 年Anyone with a subscription to The Athletic too, I would ask you to read this brilliant piece by Caoimhe O'Neill too: https://theathletic.com/2704711/2021/07/15/this-is-what-you-endure-watching-england-as-a-woman-misogyny-sexism-and-the-constant-fear-of-being-touched-without-consent/?redirected=1
Founder @ Verde | The Fashion SEO Expert | SEO for Fashion, Luxury & Sports E-Commerce Brands
3 年Unfortunately couldn't tag within the post, but adidas, Nike, BT, [ART OF FOOTBALL] and Football Beyond Borders are just some of the names working towards a more inclusive future within football.