England boss receives support for his Brexit stance – from Scotland

England manager Gareth Southgate ruffled a few feathers when the interview he had given in June about racism in English football reached the airwaves last week.

He addressed the hot topic issue of Brexit and said that he felt the Leave campaign had contained racist undertones.

Needless to say, those who had been against Brexit all along were delighted that such a prominent and popular national figure had spoken out, while many Leavers were equally unhappy with his view.

In the divide to take sides on his view though, he received support and backing from an area where you might not expect folk to be lining up to support the manager of England – Scotland.

Paul McNeela covers Australian football for Prost and lives in Perth WA, but he is originally from Perth, Scotland

 

He wasn’t alone and one word that kept reverberating was respect. Other Scottish fans chimed in on twitter:

The groundswell of support didn’t just come from fans.

Measurements of the Brexit vote in each UK Parliamentary constituency showed that Glasgow North was the most pro EU Parliamentary constituency in Scotland and fourth highest in the UK.

Its boundaries includes football club Partick Thistle and Glasgow University among other attractions but the largest element of the seat in terms of former constituency boundaries, comes from the Maryhill constituency which is still a traditional mainly working class seat.

 

Bob Doris MSP is the elected Member of the Scottish Parliament for Maryhill and Springburn, an area which overlaps with the Westminster constituency of Glasgow North. Doris is known locally for his work with the Afghan community in his constituency and has been a long term campaigner against racism.

In an email to Prost International, he had no trouble supporting the England manager’s stance against racism and Brexit,

“I thought Gareth Southgate gave a thoughtful insight into how football can be a force for good and bring people together.

“His comments on a diverse and multicultural modern national identity being mirrored in a resurgent England football team were powerful and to be welcomed.

“It offers hope for the future and in stark contrast with what he rightly identifies as racial undertones during the Brexit debate.”

His comments echo many of the positive comments made about the modern England side by English fans and journalists during the World Cup. Both the diversity of the current squad and their youth was seen to be more in touch with modern England than sides of the past.

Southgate’s words come at a key moment for the Brexit process.

Brexit is about to face some key votes in the UK Parliament next week.

It seems likely that Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement with the EU will be rejected, throwing the whole process into a new uncertainty.

Combined with this morning’s legal opinion that Britain can still revoke Articl 50 abandon the whole thing, the country seems to be heading towards a choice between leaving the EU with no deal at all or abandoning Brexit, either permanently or until a brand new government with a different set of priorities can restart negotiations.

It seems that neither of these options will ever find a majority in Parliament so there’s a small but increasing possibility that the whole issue will be sent back to the people for a second referendum.

It will be hard for Southgate not to be involved should that happen, having nailed his colours so firmly to the mast.

For once, he will have most of Scotland behind him.