ENGLAND MANAGER GARETH Southgate labelled a section of the country’s supporters an “embarrassment” after trouble during the Nations League Finals.
Southgate’s team suffered a 3-1 extra-time loss to the Netherlands in a semi-final in Guimaraes last night with some England fans causing problems on the streets since their arrival in Portugal.
Riot police charged fans on Wednesday night after bottles were thrown in a designated fan zone at Porto’s Praca da Liberdade, where Portugal supporters gathered to watch their team’s 3-1 win over Switzerland.
Although further large-scale violence was avoided, there were also clashes involving England fans and police around night spots on Rua da Fabrica and Rua de Candido dos Reis, which are adjacent to Praca da Liberdade in the city centre.
Ahead of the tournament, the FA launched a campaign named ‘Don’t be That Idiot’ to deter anti-social behaviour by England fans. While the majority of the 20,000 fans who have travelled to Portugal avoided trouble, the actions of those who have disturbed the peace were condemned by the governing body,
You wouldn't normally do this. So what makes football different? pic.twitter.com/VmkJXj50eU
— The FA (@FA) May 30, 2019
Speaking after his side’s defeat, Southgate also slammed the element of fans misbehaving.
“I haven’t seen it, I’m aware of it. The saddest thing for me is we have thousands upon thousands come and support us brilliantly and have the ability to enjoy themselves without causing offence or causing problems,” he said.
“But we have a group who are an embarrassment. As an Englishman, they aren’t supporters of the team, they reflect so poorly on us as a country.
“We don’t associate ourselves with them at all.”
England will face Switzerland in a third-place play-off in Guimaraes on Sunday afternoon.
The Netherlands, meanwhile, will take on Portugal in the showpiece event later that day, with the first winner of the inaugural Nations League competition set to be crowned.
Ban them from participating in the next league of nations. That should go for any nation that’s ‘fans’ cause trouble. This section if English support seem to cause trouble wherever they go bar Russia of course.
Whatever takes the focus of your teams woeful performance!
Headline could mean the fans or the team. Bit ambiguous!