Euro 2020 fallout: ‘Frankly, we don’t deserve to host a tournament’

The disgusting and totally unacceptable racist abuse directed at a trio of England players in the wake of Sunday’s defeat at Wembley is, unfortunately, the tip of a very big iceberg.
Jadon Sancho (left) and Marcus Rashford both received racist online abuse after their penalty misses in England's shootout defeat to Italy in the UEFA Euro 2020 final. Picture by Carl Recine - Pool/Getty ImagesJadon Sancho (left) and Marcus Rashford both received racist online abuse after their penalty misses in England's shootout defeat to Italy in the UEFA Euro 2020 final. Picture by Carl Recine - Pool/Getty Images
Jadon Sancho (left) and Marcus Rashford both received racist online abuse after their penalty misses in England's shootout defeat to Italy in the UEFA Euro 2020 final. Picture by Carl Recine - Pool/Getty Images

Charles Dickens couldn’t have put it better, when he wrote ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’, the classic piece of prose encapsulating the events of Sunday.

England were in a major final for the first time in 55 years and, as it was back in 1966 playing, on their home turf.

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The nation rejoiced and the excitement grew – was football finally coming home?

I was fortunate enough to be one of the 60,000 at Wembley on Sunday night – 75,000 if you count the people who broke in for nothing – and several days on it still has to be one of the most surreal experiences of my almost-57 years on the planet. In the main, regardless of the result, I had an unforgettable day with my lad. However I saw things happen on Sunday that will never go unseen.

Ultimately, this country is blighted by a predominantly white-male underclass, whose members at times align themselves with our national game and, in the main, England matches.

Various videos from Wembley have gone viral already. Is this the behaviour of a civilised society? Do me a favour.

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There was appalling racist chanting on a scale that left me speechless.

Whatever happened to the security rings round the stadium, which you couldn’t get through unless you had a genuine match ticket? And what happened to the rule about not being allowed into a sporting event if drunk?

Frankly, it was chaos. An associate of mine in Worthing paid £6,000 for two tickets only to see someone jump a turnstile and get in unchecked as the mayhem ensued.

The die was well and truly cast on Sunday. This country should abandon hopes of hosting a World Cup or the Euros again – frankly we don’t deserve it – until this aforementioned underclass is bought under control.

And I fear there’s more chance of The Beatles reforming than that happening.

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