Sajidur Rahman is the 2022 Unheard Voices Student Football Writer of the Year
Bellingham was an unused substitute in 2021 when the Three Lions fell to a 3-2 defeat on penalties to the Azzurri.
Instead, counterparts Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were all called on by Gareth Southgate to come off the sidelines and take the final three penalties.
All of them missed.
While many rose to praise the courage of the youngsters who were aged 23 (Rashford), 21 (Sancho), and 19 (Saka) at the time, the occasion was marred by the racism faced by the trio on social media.
Suddenly for the vocal minority, Rashford, Sancho and Saka were no longer viewed as English.
Rashford was black and Jamaican. Sancho was black and Trinidadian. Saka was black and Nigerian.
Though there has been lots of support and awareness brought to the Black Lives Matter movement since then, unfortunately, there is a possibility that the next star to rise through the ranks will face the same prejudice.
Bellingham has had a sensational start to the season since switching from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid in the summer for £88m.
The midfielder has scored 10 goals in his first 10 games for Los Blancos, adding an additional three assists in that time too.
At just 20 years old, the new Galactico is being dubbed a future Ballon d’Or winner and is one of the favourites to win the European Golden Boy award for 2023.
Bellingham’s mother, Denise, is of African-British heritage and despite the midfielder being heralded as the new hero for England, disgustingly it does not take long for the opinions of some fans to change and strip him of his shining armour to bare his skin tone and ethnicity.
Bellingham was rested in the 1-0 victory over Australia on Friday and is expected to be back to try and help dominate the midfield against the tricky Italian opposition.
Victory tonight for England will secure them a spot to once again compete for the European Championships crown in 2024, joining neighbours Scotland who have qualified with two games to spare.
Prior to the final in 2021, there were ugly scenes of fans trying to force entry to the stadium but it seems fitting, that in a world with so much division at the moment that this fixture takes place now, to remind everyone of the upsetting moments that were witnessed two years ago and the fights that we still face to this day.
[Eye witness from Wembley: How the police, UEFA, idiots, media and politicians let England down]
This has extended from the old racism to the battle for LGBTQ rights with England midfielder Jordan Henderson at the heart of the debate having been selected while plying his trade in Saudi Arabia and the conflict between Israel and Palestine increasing anti-semitism and Islamophobia.
Football is insignificant in the grand scheme of things, especially when fans are lost trying to watch the sport they love as was the case last night for two Swedes in Brussels.
However, the game can be used to push a powerful message and unite everyone to come together in the depths of darkness.
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The scenes around Wembley were alarming and had been more than five hours before kick-off.
As early as 3pm, there were inebriate young males throwing lit flares into in the air disinterested in where they landed. Empty beer cans were reckless enough but a full can of Stella landed two feet away from me. As it hit the ground, beer fizzled out the top but had it landed six inches in any other direction, it would have resulted in something infinitely more serious.
A not so young England fan who accompanied me thought he had seen it all until a lit flare landed centimetres from his right foot and told me “we’re turning back. This is too dangerous”. This was 4pm. And these people had four hours more drinking to do.
Wembley Way was packed by 4pm. This did not feel like a 65,000 crowd. It felt like full capacity or even more. I’d estimate it was three times as busy as the same area had been two hours before the Denmark kick off.
The atmosphere was toxic and so different from the earlier games at Wembley. Whereas Danish and England fans had mingled peacefully, any Italy fans had hidden their colours. Wisely as it turned out. Even the Scotland game was far more peaceful and less tense than this.
There were 30 fans standing on the canopy that shelters those at the front of the queues of the Box Park entrance. It looked likely to collapse under the weight. Had it done so, the occupants would have fallen on at least 30 other people below. It was a miracle that it was cleared of idiots in time before a tragedy occurred. Drunks were climbing traffic lights and street lights.
Masks were very rare. One moron actually violently tore mine off my face. What kind of mentality does that? His self satisfied glee disappeared sharply when I (mischievously) told him I had Covid and he needed to get tested immediately.
As we moved away from the stadium entrance, we sat at the foot of Wembley Park station and observed. Around 6pm, an odd thing began to happen. It became apparent that more people were heading into the station to leave Wembley than arriving to watch the game.
It became clear that thousands had descended on Wembley ticketless. Were they heading home to watch the game in peace? I originally thought so. However many were heading to Leicester Square and other Central London public gatherings to cause havoc a second time.
The fans emerging from the station by 6pm had a different hue to those who had been gathering since 3pm.
I told an ambulanceman “people are going to get hurt.”
“They’re already getting hurt,” he told me as he ran off to tend to another incident.
The choruses of “Football’s Coming Home” had a distinctly southern accent around it, whereas the fans drinking as early as 3pm were very much northerners if accents and the towns on flags are the guide. There were more women and families emerging whereas the 4pm throng was very much young, male and drunk.
That thousands of ticketless fans had been allowed to descend and gather outside Wembley during a pandemic was now obvious. That many had travelled a long distance to do so was equally apparent.
The police approach nationwide had let ticketed fans and Wembley residents down. There will be a COVID-19 spike nationally and especially locally very soon.
Around Wembley Stadium, it became clear that the police numbers were insufficient. They were forming a line down Wembley Way that did not appear to be doing anything. Nearer the stadium, large groups were endangering other fans. Being showered with beer was the least of the threats.
Fearing the worst, I told several officers that they need to get numbers to the most toxic areas. None of them listened. Some did admit that this seemed very different to previous games but I saw no evidence of large numbers of police arriving from elsewhere to bolster those already policing the area.
There’s one exception to that. There were six large police van outside the Torch. One officer told me that fans had tried to storm in past the bouncers who had been regulating the numbers inside peacefully for three weeks. What kind of joined up thinking leads to a conclusion you’ll be served beer having forced your way in with 200 others into a packed bar, already at capacity?
So the police rightly cleared and closed the pub, depriving well behaved fans who had arrived on time of their pre-match experience. It also led to hundreds of people wandering around looking for a place to watch the game. They had done nothing wrong. As they searched, they and their children could see, as I did, youngsters snorting cocaine openly in the streets.
Staff inside the Crock of Gold pub two hours before kick off after the local pubs had to be closed.
The worst elements had once more let the decent fans down. Few had enough local knowledge to find another pub or more sensibly get the hell out of Wembley and head to Willesden or Kilburn for a safer environment. Three doors down, the staff at the Crock of Gold sat forlornly inside counting how much business they had lost because of the closure.
Decent fans who had been looking forward to the day were wandering around Wembley bemused and often scared.
What could have been done better?
On reflection, the decision to make the final an 8pm kick off was unwise. But UEFA weren’t to know in advance England would be in the final. Had this been Italy v Denmark, we’d have been celebrating England’s successful hosting of the tournament and how Wembley saved the day.
It could have been a celebration of England’s new post-Brexit relationship with Europe.
The Police Football Intelligence Unit is usually amongst the best prepared when it comes to football, but badly let the nation and Brent down. I could see at 3pm this was going to be different to other games here. More officers should have been drafted in. There was plenty time to draw on the reserves.
Additionally someone took a decision not to form a ticket barrier further away from the stadium entrance. That police line half way between the station and the stadium would have been ideal. Someone also decided to let stewards alone guard the ticket entrances. There were few police where they were most needed by 7pm. It’s no wonder that drunk and entitled young men felt emboldened to storm the unguarded entrance to enter the stadium.
Yes poorly paid stewards are cheaper than trained officers but UEFA is awash with money and that organisation too must shoulder its share of the blame for the chaos around Wembley.
Extra funds need to be made available to help police areas where England (and maybe others like Russia) are playing, and the safety of innocent England fans and local residents now needs to be put ahead of any bad PR that facing the reality would serve up.
It needs to become safe again to watch England.
Many decent fans came to Wembley to have fun their country should be proud of them
It’s important not to forget the decent fans
There was no reason for ticketless fans to be so close to the stadium on game day. A well publicised police cordon would have dissuaded many from traveling to close to the entrance.
On the day, the police presence was ineffective. They stood in line half way down Wembley Way and appeared to be doing nothing while chaos was unfolding as close as 200 yards away. Surely they could see beer cans being tossed skywards from so close?
I told at least three officers I was worried about potential injuries in other areas. Not one of them reached for their walky talkies.
I told an ambulanceman “that people are going to get hurt.”
“They’re already getting hurt,” he told me as he ran off to tend to another incident.
Large fan zones could have been set up in Hyde Park, Regents Park and even, if necessary to clear the area around the stadium, the nearby King Edwards Park. Big screens, free entry, six beers each maximum and nothing but grass to destroy. It would also have the benefit of being outdoors and minimising the Covid risk around more built up areas like Wembley Stadium and Leicester Square.
The English media, who bear some responsibility for the jingoistic hyperbole, have rightly focussed on the disgusting online abuse aimed at the players brave enough to take penalties. It’s a serious but separate issue.
Tory and pro-Brexit politicians who have fostered isolationism, English supremacy and xenophobia, and then tried to hitch their wagon to the success of the team, have been as odious as Gareth Southgate’s players have been heroes.
Angela Rayner is a Labour MP. This morning she tweeted:
Let me be clear. The Prime Minister and the Home Secretary gave license to the racists who booed the England players and are now racially abusing England players.@BorisJohnson and @pritipatel are like arsonists complaining about a fire they poured petrol on. Total hypocrites.
— Angela Rayner
(@AngelaRayner) July 12, 2021
Many will sympathise with her view but those issues are for another article.
Lastly, the best team won Euro 2020. England went further than sides with arguably more talent such as France, Belgium and Spain. Their squad is young and there is better to come for a nation only 75% of which really deserves.
Roberto Mancini outthought Southgate as he did Spain’s Luis Enrique after being outplayed in the first half.
It’s a shame that this morning the media are more focused on those who drag football down than a tactical masterclass by a manager who should be talk of the world.
There’s anther great article by an eye witness Alan Smith, Chief football writer of Football London which I’d recommend.
Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt
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I, on the other hand, enjoyed my experience watching Partizan beat Proleter by a goal to nil in front of empty stands that I simply had to make the hour-and-a-half trip south the following Wednesday to see the Black and Whites in cup action.
Like Partizan, I have a good relationship with the cup. Maybe it was growing up with the FA Cup Final being the pinnacle of the season, or seeing Cardiff get there against all the odds in 2008. Perhaps I’m trying to cling on to some relic of a past footballing age.
Or maybe it’s because Partizan have made the final in each of the years I have been in Serbia, winning four times and losing on penalties last season. With the team already nine points behind leaders, Red Star, maybe I’m clinging to the hope that the cup is the only chance of not going two seasons without a trophy.
Gornji Milanovac: A town with a ground and not much else
Partizan’s Second Round opponents were Metalac from Gornji Milanovac. An old industrial town of around 25,000 in central Serbia, Gornji Milanovac doesn’t have much to offer. Other than its bizarre Hollywood sign on one of the mountains overlooking the town and its even stranger Norwegian house, shaped like a boat, that cost the city €11.9 million to repurchase, that is.
I may be being a bit harsh. The city is surrounded by the luscious rolling hills of Šumadija and is a great place to escape to in spring and summer. The drive from Čačak, where I’d watched an early kick-off in the second tier of Serbian football, was simply stunning as the leaves were turning on this cold November day.
My first visit to the town was also for a cup game back in May 2016. The Stadion Metalac, which holds just 4,400 spectators, was inexplicably chosen to host the Serbian Cup final between Partizan and Javor Ivanjica.
A friend and I decided to make the trip down on a wet Wednesday afternoon, only to get there and find that, of course, tickets were sold out. We found a tout and paid double the price (1000 dinars instead of 500 (£7 instead of £3.50), and headed back into town for a pre-match beer.
When we returned not long before kick-off, we noticed hundreds if not a couple of thousand Partizan fans huddled around the entrance to the stand. We stood for a minute until we saw an opening on the far side where they were letting fans with tickets in. We moved just in time, as the crowd got irate at not being let in, and the police charged with batons. We’d got in and watched on as the chaos unfolded outside.
The thousands of locked out fans did make it in sometime before half time. There was an enormous crush and the leaders of the Ultras, usually taking no notice of safety, looked visibly scared as they ushered everyone to spread out along the terrace. My mate and I duly followed orders and found a quiet spot further down where we could finally catch our breath.
But what a ground
Thankfully, this time there was no chance of that happening, with the government still insisting that football games be played behind closed doors. I’d emailed Metalac on Monday and got an immediate answer confirming my space in the press box.
The ground is located on the main road through town – formerly the main road between Belgrade and Montenegro. It dwarfs the town, with a large stand on one side, two smaller stands, and four monstrous floodlights that lit up the whole of Central Serbia, it seemed, as I arrived at dusk.
Having opened in 2012, it’s a modern stadium but its three-sided stands makes it feel like a ‘proper’ ground. Also, unusually for Serbia, it doesn’t have a running track around it, so the view is fantastic wherever you are.
As I made my way up the three flights of stairs into the press box, I was in awe of the modern tiling, plush surroundings and actual heaters that kept the whole place cosy on a bitter November evening. This was a world away from Partizan’s press box at the Stadion JNA, where you have to enter from the stand, and you never know if the electricity will work.
I took my seat in the comfortable, old-school padded seats that looked as though they’d been lifted from Partizan’s ground – navy and red, the old colours of Partizan, much like the ones at the JNA. I plugged my laptop and phone in, and even logged onto the wifi. This was a novelty.
A group of teenagers sat to my left, talking about the Metalac players as if they knew them, while a man on his laptop occupied the three seats to my right editing some video clips that I couldn’t make out. And we all settled down to watch the match.
Metalac Gornji Milanovac v Partizan Belgrade
My pre-match notes focused heavily on Partizan and noted that they made just two changes to the side that struggled to beat Proleter on the weekend. Slobodan Urošević was in at left back and Nemanja Stevanović was between the sticks. A known penalty specialist – he saved a late penalty to give Partizan the win just a few weeks ago in Subotica – I was concerned that the visitors were getting ready for a draw.
After all, the last time they visited Gornji Milanovac, they threw away a lead late on against 10-man Metalac, in what manager Aleksandar Stanojević branded the worst performance since he took over in September.
The hosts were on a good run and were fresh from having a weekend off. They were unbeaten in their last eight matches in all competition while Partizan had struggled to one-goal wins in their last two outings, failing to look convincing in any. Was this the best time to face the Black and Whites?
The opening stages were cagey. In truth, it was a poor first half. Partizan tried to rush long balls, and looked far less dangerous in doing so than when their build up was patient. Metalac were restricted to counter attacks, utilising the rapid winger, Mbongo, down the right.
They frustrated the visitors, forcing them into long-range efforts, with Bibras Natho, Takuma Asano, and Filip Holender all trying from distance.
Natho was at the heart of Partizan’s best move as he played a one-two with Miloš Jojić who cut inside and fired over.
It looked as though we were heading in to the break with the score at 0-0 until a moment of brilliance from Asano put the visitors ahead. The Japanese winger picked up the ball from a loose clearance and ran at the defence. He had options to his left but went alone and sent a thundering strike to the back of the net.
While they had dominated the half, Partizan were fortunate to go in a goal to the good.
The Black and Whites came racing out of the blocks in the second half, with Asano and Natho looking a cut above the rest, as they were involved in every good move. Jojić again went close this time forcing the ‘keeper into a fingertip save wide.
Metalac changed shape, pushing Mbongo forward to hassle the visitors’ defenders. And it almost worked. His speed tricked the defence leaving a gap for Antonijević – a Partizan youth product – to shoot. His powerful effort was spilled and a last-ditch tackle from Vujačić stopped a certain equaliser.
Partizan kicked on after that scare and should have made it two. Natho linked up well with Jojić in the middle again but he missed from close range.
Metalac in turn, went up the other end and almost made Jojić rue his missed chance right away. A blocked shot at the edge of the box was followed by a deflected attempt that just went beyond the far post.
Both teams started playing some nice football and the hosts started thinking they could get something. A double change sought to sway things. with two new strikers entering the fray. However, Partizan got back on top and Šćekić and Holender both had chances to double their team’s lead from the edge of the box.
As Metalac threw on another two players Partizan began dropping deeper and deeper, and it seemed as though they may be inviting a similar ending to what happened the last time they played here. Bringing winger Lutovac on for striker Holender indicated that the manager was happy for them to sit back and see it out.
Soumah’s introduction provided a glimmer of excitement for the visitors, but he was asked to do a lot up front on his own and it was Nikola Štulić’s cameo that gave Partizan the strength and confidence to see it through. The young forward was a wall in holding the ball up, and the majority of added time saw him hold the ball near the corner flag.
The final whistle blew and I, along with the Black and Whites’ players breathed a huge sigh of relief. A third consecutive one-goal win saw Partizan in the hat for the Quarter Final of the cup. It was a better performance than on the weekend but they still lacked the comfort that the fans will be looking for.
What next?
Metalac’s manager and former Partizan player, Žarko Lazović, was full of praise for his opponents, conceding that his side were outplayed. His opposite, Stanojević, also praised his side’s play. However, without the magic of Asano and efficiency of Natho, it’s tough to see how Partizan are truly progressing.
Yes, Metalac are a tough team to break down – their record shows that – but a team like Partizan needs to start converting those chances into goals. If recent matches around the world have shown us, goals win matches, not just possession. The Partizan faithful will be hoping that it’s just taking time to click, and nothing more. As for the cup? I’m still dreaming of it!
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]]>Such is the “new normal” of following your football team during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Then I got a call from another friend. “Want to go to the match?” Kick off was just an hour away, and no fans were allowed. But my journalist mate often has a spare pass and, as has been the case many times when fans were allowed, nobody had taken him up on the offer.
I’d forgotten my mask so had to rush to a pharmacy and pick one up for just 16 dinars (12 pence), and hopped into a taxi looking forward to watching Partizan live for the first time this season.
Classical music calmly echoed around the taxi and I remembered, no “joyful” music was allowed in Serbia, by law, until Monday. Odd? Yes, I thought so too.
Politics and Football Don’t Mix? Try Religion and Football
The Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Irinej, had died the day before and the government had announced three days of mourning for the religious leader.
No music, but football was okay? My girlfriend explained something about football not being around when the Bible was written. I couldn’t be bothered to check if there was any mention of music in the good book so off I went.
As I stood outside the main entrance to the ground waiting for my mate and the not-so-hottest ticket in town, there was more than just an eeriness due to the lack of fans around the place. In fact, we’re quite used to that at the Stadion JNA – last season the average attendance couldn’t have been more than 3,000 (the ground holds 30,000 officially).
Usually, raucous punk music blares from the speakers. The fans’ band, Grupa JNA, solely dedicated to Partizan – all sports, not just football – have released three albums to date and all the black-and-white faithful know the words to each song. And then, before kick off, the club anthem “Da Volim Crno-Bele” (I Love the Black-and-Whites) rings out.
But today, nothing. The announcer went through the line-ups, a minute’s silence was observed, and the players had to find some motivation from somewhere.
I made my way through the press entrance to the side of the pitch and back up the stand to the press box – just a few metres away from my usual spot in the East Stand.
Inconsistent Favourites
Partizan were hosting Proleter from Novi Sad. A win would see the Belgrade side leapfrog the main team from Novi Sad, Vojvodina, into second, pending their game against league leaders Red Star on the Sunday.
While fighting it out for second spot may sound like something to relish, Partizan fans have bemoaned their team’s performances this season. Fans’ favourite, Savo Milosevic, was sacked at the end of August after lashing out against Vojvodina at a pitchside microphone against Vojvodina, and not everybody is happy with the return of Aleksandar Stanojevic.
While manager Stanojević did guide the black-and-whites to their last Champions League group stage appearance, he was also in charge the following season, when Partizan suffered a humiliating exit from Europe at the hands of Shamrock Rovers.
Known for his negative style of football, Stanojević prides himself on being difficult to beat, something that doesn’t sit comfortable with a set of supporters that know their team has the budget to outclass every team but one in the league.
He’s brought back some former players that supporters and journalists alike feel lack the required level to bring success and his results have been mixed in his six weeks or so in charge.
Exit from the Europa League in the Qualifying Rounds to Charleroi from Belgium meant that Partizan should be able to focus on the league. However, just two games later, they threw away a lead late on against 10-man Metalac. They’ve also suffered defeat in Niš, and been unconvincing in wins in Subotica and at home against Bačka Palanka.
Now was the time to prove the doubters wrong following the latest international break. However Stanojević had already poured scorn on the idea that the black-and-whites would run out easy victors, praising Proleter for their defensive ‘organisation’ in his pre match conference.
Partizan Belgrade v Proleter Novi Sad
The hosts did, however, start with a strong line-up, despite a couple of surprises in defence and in goals. The main change seeing young Aleksandar Popović between the sticks, as Partizan looked to fulfill their U21 quota in the absence of winger Filip Stevanović – reportedly on his way to Man City.
The visitors, meanwhile, had no trouble in filling that quota, with four players under the age of 21 in their starting line-up and a further five on the bench.
As was expected, Partizan dominated possession but gave the ball away cheaply in the early stages. Players who are usually reliable, such as Saša Zdjelar, Takuma Asano, and Israeli captain Bibras Natho, were all guilty of losing the ball more than once.
It took until the 30th minute for any real chance of note, as the hosts as they created a few attacks in quick succession. Flowing moves down the right brought Miljković, the full-back, into play. He set up a great chance for striker Holender who fired straight at the ‘keeper, and put in a good cross for Šćekić, who could only tamely head wide.
Asano then sprung into action on the right, breaking quickly and putting what looked like being a perfect pass into the path of Holender, but a Proleter defender slid in at the last second and just diverted it wide.
After that, the visitors put ten men behind the ball and targeted Asano, giving him no space to run and tacking hard. This was the Proleter that Stanojević had warned about.
The second half started much like the first. Partizan were again guilty of giving the ball away cheaply while still having the lion’s share of the ball.
A corner fell kindly at the second time of asking early on, but it fell to centre-half Vujačić who could only sky it high into the empty South Stand, where the raucous Grobari would usually be standing.
Natho offered the next promising moment, cutting inside on his right and beating three players, forcing a good save from the visiting ‘keeper, who was determined to do everything in his power to stop the home side from scoring.
That was Natho’s last contribution, as Partizan brought on two players as they looked to up the ante. Seydoubah Soumah, the diminutive attacking midfielder back from an injury sustained in the first derby of the season, and Lazar Marković, back from Coronavirus, ready to breathe new life into the match.
And it almost paid off immediately! The ball bounced kindly to Marković from a cross, but his first touch from a tight angle could only see him fire high and wide.
Just a minute later, and Partizan broke again. A lovely ball through to Holender saw him awkwardly get a touch to it just inside the box just before the defender could get there, leaving the trailing leg only able to bring him down. Penalty to the hosts.
Holender stepped up in the absence of Natho, looking for his first goal in Partizan’s colours, but his tame shot was comfortably palmed away by the ‘keeper who was staking his claim for the man of the match award.
A triple change from the visitors suggested they may have thought that they could steal it, but Partizan continued to dominate with the new changes simply reinforcing Proleter’s solid line.
A rare corner for the visitors in the 90th minute was easily dealt with by Popović, who quickly distributed to Marković to start a counter attack. The ex-Liverpool man took a heavy touch and lost the ball.
He couldn’t catch his man and did everything in his power to bring down the attacking red shirt, but Jovan Ilić just powered past him and was almost through on goal. A thundering effort came crashing off the bar, evading the on-running attacker for the rebound, and actually providing Partizan with the chance for the counter they initially wanted.
Directly from that, the black-and-whites broke down the left, a cross in was poorly dealt with by the visitors’ defenders. The ball fell to Miljković on the far side and his cross spun off the back of the defender lying on the floor straight into the path of Holender. The attacker flew to meet the ball with a volley that left the ‘keeper stunned and beaten as it went into the corner of the net.
The Hungarian international raced towards the corner flag in front of us and ripped his shirt off, barely able to contain his emotions at finally grabbing his first goal for Partizan, and atoning for his earlier mistake.
The fourth official’s board went up, and the five minutes of additional time flew by with Partizan seeing out the game comfortably to see another nervous victory that put them within six points of the league leaders – for 24 hours at least.
What Next?
Red Star went on to reopen the gap to nine points in comfortable fashion the following day, and so it was back to business as usual then, despite the distractions of Coronavirus and the days of mourning. Partizan know they have a mountain to climb if they are to get even close to the title this season.
Attention now turns to the cup on Wednesday, where the black-and-whites have a strong recent history – they’ve appeared in the last six finals, winning four.
That game? Against Metalac Gornji Milanovac who managed a point with just 10 men the last time Partizan came to town. Stanojevic will be under no illusions that his side need to improve if they want to lift the trophy once again.
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]]>In life, hindsight takes precedence above logic. We can look back, analyse and evaluate our actions in certain situations, and make a judgement then rather than in the moment. Unquestionably it is the easier route.
I hope this will ring true for the Bulgarian “fans” who decide on totally logic-defying actions in the racist chants, gestures and behaviour they used last night in the 6-0 defeat to England, which not only illuminated what was already the most clear and obvious issue, but worsened it.
Now let’s make this clear. Racism is a huge issue not only in that stadium, that city, Bulgaria as a whole. But in our civilisation. It was only a focal point on Monday which brings more people out talking about the issue.
Where best to begin? Last week perhaps, as England prepared to visit the Vasil Levski Stadium.
Bulgaria vs England, just your typical European Qualifier. The difference being the havoc was forewarned. Gareth Southgate himself even prepared for the protocol and the potential of racism was discussed in his previous press conference. Although he handled it magnanimously,
“Well I say the same as I said the other night in Prague,” said Southgate.
“We are guests in another country and I have always said we have as many issues in own country to resolve than anywhere else.
“Everyone wants us to talk about football, for the players and both teams the same.
“We had to prepare our players for what happened in Montenegro, so that was a process that we needed to go through before our next away fixtures.
“Outside of that, we trust the authorities to make sure everything is in place and everybody involved in the game from both countries is wanting to talk about the match.”
Captain Harry Kane also had his say:
“The most important thing is we are all fully focused on the game tomorrow night, getting the three points and putting us in a great position,”
“We had a meeting at the start of the week on things that could happen but they might not happen. There’s obviously a protocol in place that UEFA have set.
“From my point of view and the players’ point of view, we are here to do a job on the football pitch and hopefully we don’t have to cross that bridge.
“We will see what happens but our full focus is on the game.”
This pre-match prophecy had already caused the anxiety and angst before the game, with the Bulgarian manager Krasimir Balakov suggesting Bulgaria “had no such issues”, although several sections of the crowd had been shut out due to racist abuse to Czech and Kosovan international sides. Didn’t seem to add up, but in his defence the racism he was talking about had not even happened yet.
Mmmmh … Not sure about this one chief https://t.co/Jyjr6vFtA8
— Raheem Sterling (@sterling7) October 14, 2019
Perfectly put by Raheem Sterling. And my oh my was the Manchester City winger proven right.
England lined up with several high profile Black players. Sterling himself, Jadon Sancho and Tyrone Mings and Marcus Rashford. And it wouldn’t take long for the Three Lions to take the lead.
In the seventh minute, football was the winner when Marcus Rashford dashed past the by-line and three Bulgarian defenders to whip into the top right hand corner. A fabulous strike and a perfect start. Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley soon made it two and it became clear of the sides’ superiority.
After 28 minutes the game was halted for the first time. Defender Mings can be seen calling towards the touchline – “can you hear that?”. Kane then got into conversation with the referee, Ivan Bebek of Croatia, whilst a stadium announcement remarked that the chants needed to stop.
The game resumed with England winning 2-0, and it would stop once again at 3-0. After Barkley slotted in his second after 32 minutes, and several chances came England’s way, the game halted for a second time at 44 minutes.
This time it looked as if players wanted to leave the pitch, but as 43 minutes had past, manager Southgate and senior players decided to play on whilst in continuous discussion with match officials After a group of hoodied fans were deported from the ground, play resumed. A good job it did too (well at least in footballing terms) as Kane lay the perfect square ball for Sterling to convert England’s fourth.
Bulgaria captain Ivelin Popov had a heated discussion with some Bulgarian fans during the break of tonight’s #BULENG qualifier after the match had been stopped twice for racist chants in the first half pic.twitter.com/8u0a1CGcoa
— mshumanov (@shumansko) October 14, 2019
As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. Here is the singular sliver of silver which leaves microscopic hope in the situation. Captain Ivelin Popov’s clear moral compass comes into play, and this had been praised by pundits, fans and players alike including one of the goal scorers Rashford.
The second-half began more slowly football wise, with England not adding to their four goal advantage until minute 69, but from minutes 45-68 you could still hear monkey chants, witness Nazi salutes and the continuation of such mannerisms in the stadium. It was becoming even more of a focal point.
It could’ve been easy for it to be a distraction. But the protocols were followed, Sterling bagged another, and England were continuing to show who was boss on the field of play.
Harry Kane finished after being involved in the majority of the goals, and England ran out 6-0 winners. But after the final whistle, everyone was eager to hear the thoughts of all of the England players and manager for their opinion on the situation, and Balakov’s reaction or defence of the issue.
Gareth Southgate commented:
“We had to prepare for this eventuality. The most important thing was the players and staff knew what we were going to do and were in agreement.
Nobody should have to experience what our players did. We followed the protocol. We gave two messages – one that our football did the talking and two, we stopped the game twice.
“That might not be enough for some people but we are in that impossible situation that we can’t give everyone what they want. But we gave the players what they wanted and the staff what that they wanted.
Remarkably, after what we have been through, our players walked off smiling and that’s the most important thing for me. Not one player wanted to stop, they were absolutely firm on that.”
Perhaps, what is more disappointing is the lack of empathy and acceptance from certain members of Bulgarian football.
In Bulgarian newspapers the day after, there was a lack of coverage. It was as almost if they were attempting to use paper to cover the cracks. Many also felt the English had “gone over the top” with their accusations regarding racism.
This was embodied by Bulgarian manager Krasimir Balakov, who denied he heard the abhorrent and obvious racist chanting:
“This has not happened to us before.
“We’ve had this problem ever since England were about to come to Bulgaria and all I’ve heard for three weeks is people talking about anything else but football. I don’t think this was the proper manner to prepare and play a football game.
“If this turns out to be true we are truly sorry and we as the Bulgarian Football Union and the Bulgaria national team are working very hard.”
Racism in football will continue to occur. We will continue to be outraged. But when will there be a change? Not until it is dealt with harshly.
No one has anything against Bulgaria as a country. But those few have tarnished an entire nation’s reputation. Until they have felt the catharsis of their country, they will continue with their abhorrent acts until their dying day.
Its up to UEFA. Its up to you. #NoToRacism.
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Travelling away from their parents, wives, children and siblings these soldiers were not certain of whether they would return. Yet they had the courage to fight for their country. They faced death in the face as they fought for our safety, protection and liberty.
For our protection they risked their lives; it is for this service that we must never forget the service that they did.
“Although I would give anything to be back with you, I have not yet had any wish at all to back down from the job we have to do.”
Captain Norman Skinner of the Royal Army Service Corps.
Nowadays it is more than unfathomable to imagine how they would have felt.
Men and boys, leaving the relative safety of their homes to provide the ultimate sacrifice. Many of these did not return.
Postmen, bankers, shop owners, butchers, fishmongers. People from all corners of society combined for the cause. They would not have expected the task ahead when leaving from their camps in Britain for the hardened campaign ahead. Weeks of preparation had come down to this. The victory was not assured. Yet they did so with us at heart and constantly in their mind.
Many young boys who left failed to return. Yet they committed to the cause and departed in order to help the cause of liberating Europe from the evil forces that were sweeping throughout the continent.
Boys who, for many, had many years left on their lives. Some were as young as 16 and lied in order to join the armed forces, some had recently been married, some had young children, some had only just left school.
These are, therefore, some of the men who had shown ability in sport – but put this commitment to one side and lost their lives as they fought for Queen and country in order to save us.
Alan Fowler
Swindon Town striker Alan Fowler became a national hero after being killed in action in Normandy in 1944.
The former Leeds United forward spent much of his peacetime career with Swindon Town. In three seasons, Fowler finished top-scorer and ranks twelfth in the all-time list of Swindon goal-scorers with his record of 102 goals in 224 appearances.
However, despite being labelled a ‘D-Day dodger’ due to his sporting past-times, Fowler was a member of a group of soldiers who tragically lost their lives to ‘friendly-fire’.
Fowler, a member of the Wessex Division in the campaign to liberate Caen, was likely killed from bombs dropped by a number of delayed Typhoons who were late in the Allied bombing of the location.
Fowler’s age when he was killed is heavily debated with football statisticians claiming he was 33, while the inscription of his grave says 37 and The Evening Advertiser reported he was 32.
David Haig-Thomas
Haig-Thomas, educated at Eton College and St John’s College, Cambridge, was a talismanic rower who was bowman of the 1930, 1931 and 1932 winning Cambridge boats in the Boat Race. He was also part of the eight-man team that finished fourth in the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.
Shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War, Haig-Thomas was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Army Service Corps. He served in Iceland and East Greenland before participating as part of the Special Command Boating Group, No. 14 Commando, alongside Canadians and Norwegians.
In 1944, Haig-Thomas was part of C Troop, No. 4 Commando, in Operation Overlord and was killed in action in Normandy aged 35.
Den Brotheridge
For many performing sporting ‘heroics’ is a dream that many young people have; however, Lieutenant Brotheridge became a true hero of the country as he contributed to the D-Day raids.
Often considered to be the first Allied soldier to be killed in action on D-Day, Lieutenant Brotheridge was killed during Operation Tonga.
The 28-year-old participated in the British airborne landings which secured the left flank prior to the main assault on Normandy.
From Staffordshire, the Lieutenant was a keen sportsman and played football for the Aston Villa Colts and cricket for Mitchells and Butlers.
But from the comfort of his home, he had been thrown into wartime action. The 28-year-old was chosen to command 25 Platoon in Major John Howard’s ‘D’ Company.
As he led the charge across Pegasus Bridge, Brotheridge was successful in silencing the German machine-gun post on the bank of Caen Canal to allow his fellow soldiers across.
However, after leading the charge, Brotheridge was struck in the back of the neck and died as a result.
Major John Thornton
Aged 33, Thornton was a promising athlete. The talented sportsman had represented Great Britain at Hurling in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Thornton was commissioned into the Seaforth Highlands and served at El-Alamein and in the Sicilian Campaign. However, Thornton’s life was brought to an end as part of the Normandy invasion.
Desmond Kingsford
Desmond was a rower who competed for Great Britain at the 1936 Summer Olympics. Educated at Cambridge University, Kingsford was a member of the winning Cambridge boat in the 1935 Boat Race along with his brother, and member of the Royal Navy, Annesley Kingsford.
Kingsford was part of the eight-man crew which finished fourth in the 1936 Olympics; however, he was killed in action in Normandy after he had commanded a combat group which seized the crossroads near Saint-Charles-de-Percy.
A week later he was killed in action at Tilly-sure-Seulles, Normandy. He was awarded the Military Cross for his actions on 3 August 1944 in his assault on Saint-Charles-de-Percy.
They may not be the superheroes we imagine in this modern era; however, their sacrifice of life for our safety is a debt that we will forever owe them.
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]]>A selection of supporters were filmed calling Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah a “bomber”, leaving fans outraged on social media.
The Blues supporters sung the Islamophobic song while in Prague ahead of their Europa League tie with Slavia Prague tonight.
Salah previously played for Chelsea in 2014 but left on-loan to Fiorentina before moving permanently to Roma in 2016, although the Egyptian forward has impressed the most under Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
In a statement released on Twitter, Kick It Out said:
“It’s not on the terraces, but it’s still a disgrace. We don’t want fans like that anywhere near our game. We will be liaising with Chelsea FC to ensure those involved are identified and punished swiftly and effectively.”
This is the second time that Salah has been a victim of targeted abuse, after a video circulated on social media of the Liverpool star being verbally abused by West Ham supporters at the London Stadium earlier this year.
However, it is more concerning that this is the latest spate in a series of racially-based issues in English football, with a number of footballers recently speaking out on racial abuse they had received.
A Brentford season-ticket holder was arrested in the aftermath on their 3-3 draw with Derby after Rams manager Frank Lampard said midfielder Duane Holmes was abused in the dugout.
Bristol City defender Nathan Byrne was also the victim of racist abuse from a Wigan fan on Twitter following their 2-2 draw on Saturday.
Chelsea face Slavia in the first leg of their quarter-final tonight before travelling to Anfield to take on Salah’s Reds this weekend.
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The 40-year-old spoke on the BBC World Service about his experiences in France and said that the racial abuse he received there was the underlying reason for his move to England in 2005.
“No one does anything about it. I wanted to run off the pitch.”
The 40-year-old had some strong suggestions for punishments should a section of fans hurl racial abuse at players.
“If the fans don’t behave, big teams, small teams – they have to be relegated or play a full season with no fans.
“You play a full season with no fans and they will start to think about it. Fans will think about how they have to behave when they come to a stadium.”
In recent weeks England internationals Danny Rose, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Rhaeem Sterling have all been abused and in Italy Moise Kean was racially abused by a section of Cagliari fans.
Rose recently stated he “can’t wait to see the back of football” in the wake of several high-profile incidents and the lack of action taken by the governing bodies.
Chimbonda also feels the frustrations at the lack of action from those in charge.
“This has been happening for so many years and you see nothing ever happens.
“They [governing bodies] have an advert, they fight against racists but it never stops. So they have to do big things now and show they really want to stop it.”
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]]>On February 5, it featured in another historical moment as the first ever Just A Ball Game? conference was held at the home of English football.
Founded by Lindsay England and hosted by the FA, the #StrongerTogether seminar was part of LGBT History Month and had some notable attendees at the event including former Women’s Football Association chairperson Patricia Gregory, who organised the first ever meeting of the organisation in 1969, and held several posts inside the WFA between 1969 and 1983, and former Everton and Welsh international goalkeeper Neville Southall MBE.
England spoke of her delight on the day and how far Just A Ball Game? had come.
Speaking exclusively to Prost International the founder said:
“Who’d have thought this eight years ago? I actually started Just A Ball Game? as a blog, believe it or not, before it was a campaign organisation and it actually went into a regular LGBT plus magazine in the North West.
“At the time it was called Roberto Carlos’ Thighs. I knew I had to change it to be taken seriously. But the content that I was putting in was going down well.”
The eight years leading up to the historic day in early February have been a rollercoaster, but Lindsay feels the organisation will go from strength to strength. When quizzed about where Just A Ball Game? could be in eight years’ time she said:
“Maybe this can be my office.” she said half-jokingly, gesturing around the now darkened Wembley Stadium.
“We’ll be working alongside FIFA and the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and UEFA as they’re starting to take LGBT plus inclusion seriously within football and other sports as well. And also they’re really, seriously taking that zero tolerance towards any discrimination.”
There was a slight sense of fantasy in the air as Lindsay rattled off working alongside some of the most powerful organisations in sport, yet the slight tongue-in-cheek nature of the answer was very serious when you looked past how the JBG? founder delivered it.
Her tone became more serious.
“I touched on it earlier today. It’s okay doing what you think is the right thing, but is it actually the right thing? And if you’re a huge company, a corporate organisation, whatever you’re putting out there, you’re denying services to people if you’re not being inclusive of them, whether you mean to or not.”
Host Lindsay England
Photo: justaballgame?
The seminar featured speakers with brave and inspirational stories of those who have struggled to overcome certain challenges due to the environment that society created for them.
This ranged from Skye Stewart, a transgender lady and Chair at Black Country Fusion FC speaking about the abuse she had suffered from supporters to Richard Dunbar, a member of Bradford City’s LGBT+ fan and ally group, outlining the fantastic work he and others are doing at Bradford City.
Lindsay highlighted how easy it can be for mistakes to be made when trying to implement change and how the LGBT community, and other communities who suffer from similar problems, can be left feeling alienated.
“Anybody can get things wrong. Anybody can make mistakes,” she said, “I’ll be the first to put my hand up. I would hope because I’m only human and I make mistakes.
“But if you’re going to have a zero tolerance right throughout your organisation you have to stand up to that and you have to make sure there is a zero tolerance and at the moment, sadly, there’s not.”
The seminar highlighted several frustrations the LGBT and minority communities had with several organisations and institutions paying ‘lip service’ to the issues of inequality and lack of opportunities for members of the communities.
When speaking with Prost, Lindsay came down hard on organisations being more style than substance. She said:
“While you’re raising awareness and you’re getting things out there and getting people to engage with you and you’re being visible that way. You can do that, but you need to challenge things behind that, and you need to put into practise, behind that, the right sort of education.
“Adam [McCabe] talked earlier on about the pride days and night in the US. They have been successful for a number of years. But behind that you have to have some substances and at the moment, outside of the grassroots work that we’re doing, there isn’t much.
“And we can only attain that when we have little bits of funding from time to time. There needs to be sustainable action behind that, somebody has to put some proper funding behind everything and make sure that the training is running right throughout organisations from top down, from bottom up.”
Adam McCabe, a gay semi-professional footballer for Georgia Revolution in the minor leagues in the USA (and Prost Amerika columnist), spoke on one of the panels organised on the day next to Southall, Vivienne Aiyela, the first ever black female Non Executive Director of Football, and Amrit Bains, who is part of the FA National Youth Council as a regional engagement officer and also a Sikh.
Presenter and diversity campaigner Natasha Henry, the FA’s Vivienne Aiyela, Prost columnist Adam McCabe, Neville Southall and Amrit Bains on a panel at Wembley
Photo: justaballgame?
McCabe echoed Lindsay’s thoughts on the importance of the day. Speaking to Prost International he said:
“I thought there were some really important people here.
“I think that it’s really important for us to get together and discuss what’s happening in our communities and try to think in progressive ways in how we can better football and society.”
During his trip to the UK, Adam spent time with Charlton Athletic who he praised for having a huge impact on their community through inclusion.
“Charlton really pushes diversity and inclusion and they are, for me, a great example of a club that has gone out into the community and made it their focus to get us all to accept other minorities.
“It was incredible. They have a deaf team, a women’s team and an LGBTQ team, the first that is really partnered with their club.
Their LGBTQ team has a full kit and trains at the club and uses Charlton’s facilities. They host an annual tournament where the LGBTQ team plays journalists and the local semi-pro team and I think that’s a great way to bring people together.”
Charlton’s success has prompted other clubs to move in a similar direction with Norwich City and Bristol City adopting a similar initiative as the Addicks and Adam can’t speak highly enough of the impact.
“I think it’s incredible that people at Charlton know they have an LGBT team, they know that people who are gay can play soccer, they enjoy soccer and they’re the same. They just love someone different at the end of the day.”
While high praise was in order throughout the day, Adam echoed what Lindsay had said earlier in the day – that some of the measures being taken are not enough on their own.
“We had a comment today about if Rainbow Laces is enough – to me it’s not,” he said
“It’s a great visual, but I think as Neville pointed out they’re not forcing anybody to do it. So a footballer can say they don’t want to wear them.
“I would love to see a pride game, a pride night here in England. We do it in MLS and it’s pretty good. I just think slowly implementing it and getting into people’s faces where it just becomes ‘normal’. I just want to get to the day were it’s not a gay footballer, but it’s just a footballer who happens to be gay.”
Adam is also a member of the media, in fact he is a columnist for Prost as The Gay Footballer. But Adam also wants to see change in that industry, too. Highlighted by Southall when asked if the media does play a role in the marginalisation of certain communities and minorities, the former Wales shot-stopper pointed out the disconnect and lack of trust many may have with certain media institutions.
McCabe started a podcast to help raise more awareness within the media of LGBT inclusion. He added:
“My podcast is highlighting the LGBT community who work in football and allies who either work in football or who support something that is LGBTQ. There are players out there who are gay, there are people who work in communications department and people who work at the FA who are gay.
“There are many people who are gay and work in football and I wanted to shine a light on that. Whether it be a referee, player, former player – the goal of the podcast is to shine a light on it and that you can work in football and be LGBTQ.”
When Raheem Sterling took to social media on December 9 to highlight how media coverage of black athletes can fuel racism, the media world came under intense scrutiny for it’s lack of diversity. Scrutiny it is still firmly under.
Adam believes Sterling’s words don’t just apply to black athletes, he sees parallels with LGBT communities, too.
“When I look on TV there are no male gay pundits. There are none in football. I know of one gay basketball pundit, an ESPN show host. Kelly Smith has been with Sky Sports and she’s great, but when I’m looking for a male role model there’s nobody.
“I want more diversity too, because we cover and care about our community and do so in the right fashion. I think people take for granted or they just don’t know how to talk about LGBT people. I’m not sure somebody on Sky Sports, for example, would know how to talk about a gay person or a trans person in the right forms. If there was an LGBT pundit on there, they could.
“I think there’s a place for someone like me. But there’s nobody like that right now and for the person who is young and wants to be a pundit or sports journalist, they don’t see anyone like themselves. That can be what discourages them. To mix up the media you have to mix up the people who are in it.”
The message from the conference was clear: there is progress, but more must be done to create an environment where all are welcome within football both on and off the pitch.
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The Bahraini citizen fled to Australia in 2014 and was granted political asylum; however, he was detained in Bangkok in November on an Interpol notice requested by Bahrain after travelling to the Thai capital on honeymoon.
Al-Araibi was sentenced in absentia to ten years for vandalising a police station but the 25-year-old denies the charges because he was playing in a televised football match. Human rights activists claim he could face torture if sent back to Bahrain due his history as a vocal critic of Bahraini authorities.
A number of high-profile footballers, including Didier Drogba and Jamie Vardy, have called for his release while the Australian government, FIFA and the International Olympic Committee all lobbied Thailand.
However, according to BBC Thai, Thailand’s Office of the Attorney General (OAG) asked the court to end the case against Al-Araibi after more than 70 days of detention because Bahrain no no longer want him.
“This morning the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed us that Bahrain was no longer interested in this request,” OAG foreign office chief Chatchom Akapin said.
Craig Foster, the former Australian football captain who played an instrumental role in the campaign to free al-Araibi, said:
“I am sure that embassy staff will take care of him. There’ll be tears there tonight, as there are in our household right now,” he said.
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