Beijing News (trainee reporter Hou Wuting) In the early morning of this morning, the 2020 European Cup ended at Wembley Stadium in London, after extra time and penalty shootouts, Italy defeated England 4-3, and won the Delaunay Cup again after 53 years.
For this title, both Italy and England have waited 53 years.
England's dream of "letting football go home" was shattered, but it seemed sad that only England fans, almost all of Europe supported Italy, and even fans in the Scottish region of england danced the Italian flag to celebrate Italy's victory.
The slogan "(Football) is coming home" by England fans has drawn disgust in other countries, but there may be a deeper reason why England does not have "good popularity".
Euro 2020 is the first Euro 2020 since Brexit. Since Brexit, there has been a lot of discord between the UK and the rest of Europe; on the other hand, the mood of the Scottish people has become increasingly divided. These are more or less projected onto the European Championship.
Scotland publicly supports Italy
"I don't want to hear England nagging about showing off the championship for 55 years." Scotland's "National" openly supported Italy before the game, and also put the Italian flag on the front page cover, and after the final, it congratulated Italy on the cover: "Football is coming to Rome!" ”
The Scottish media openly supported the Italian team, and the voice of the Scottish people for Italy was even higher. Before the final, sales of Italian flags and shirts in Scotland soared. According to polls, 63% of fans in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland support Italy.
Agence France-Presse commented on the extremely low approval ratings in England, saying that behind the resentment of Scottish fans was the growing tension between England and Scotland.
Earlier, due to the general opposition to Brexit in Scotland and dissatisfaction with the policies related to the new crown epidemic, the willingness of the Scottish people to be independent has been strengthened, and the controversy caused by England in the European Championship has once again exposed these contradictions.
Stuart Cosgrove, a Scottish broadcaster, pointed the finger at the Boris government, ridiculing their complete disregard for Scotland at the European Championship.
"In the reporting photo, Boris Johnson and Pretty Patel [the British Home Secretary] are wearing England jerseys, but they claim that they are the British government." He added, "If Scotland had come this far [at the European Cup], I doubt they would have been so supportive of Scotland. ”
On July 9, 2021, local time, London, England, the countdown to the final of the European Championship, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held the St George's Cross Flag and supported England to win the championship. /IC photo
According to the British "Independent" newspaper, the Scottish "National" newspaper's blatant support for the Italian team on the front page also caused many people to be dissatisfied. They believe that the Statement of the National newspaper is "if you can't eat the grapes, say the grapes are sour", which is just inciting the anti-British sentiment of the Scottish people.
In May, when the dust settled on the Scottish Parliament elections and the Scottish National Party, which supported Scottish independence, won its fourth term in power, Scottish Government Chief Secretary Sturgeon immediately shouted that it was only a matter of time before a Scottish independence referendum was held. The New York Times report also commented that the current political winds have made Scotland more and more inclined to separatism.
With the exception of Scotland, England's support in the rest of the UK is also low. The Boris government's contempt for Wales has also caused controversy.
Laura Kemp, a Welsh citizen, spoke in the local media, saying, "Wales has been suppressed by britain for too long. The Boris government only thinks of Wales in hindsight. Boris wishes good luck to England, Scotland and other 'potential teams' and Wales is this 'likely team'. "Wales has even been named.
Why are English teams so unpopular?
This time, england fans dream of london, but it seems that it is only England fans who are sad. The support rating of this European Cup final showed a one-sided trend, and fans generally said that the "rampant" of English fans made England lose "popularity" at the beginning.
Fans around the world also joked that "England fans welcome football home, but football means that all roads lead to Rome". （It is not coming home, it is coming to Rome）
On July 11, 2021 local time, Italy defeated England 4-3, winning the Delaunay Cup again after 53 years. /IC photo
The slogan, which was repeated countless times by fans around the world yesterday, is an irony of the slogan that England fans have played in the European Championship matches – "[Football] is going home". Foreign media commented that England's slogan infuriated fans around the world.
American media Sports News explained that England fans generally feel that England invented modern football, but the origin of football is already controversial, the earliest football can be traced back to China more than 2500 years ago. And England fans repeat this slogan every time they play, the hidden message is "this is a game we invented, and it is your honor that I let you play in football".
Analysing the support of the rest of the UK for Italy, Agence France-Presse commented that for football critics, England has not won a major match in football for 55 years, a slogan of domineering and unfounded arrogance.
It is this arrogance of "owning the sport of football" that makes England have no "popularity" among the fans of this European Championship. Asked what he thought of the slogan, Danish goalkeeper Schmeichel Jr. said, "Was England once home to football?" ”
"Football is home? So does England have the sport of football? I don't think so. Former Scotland international Graeme Sonnes wrote in the Times.
The English media's Report on the European Cup has also been accused of being biased. According to the British "Independent" newspaper, a Scottish citizen said that the English media that is willing to hype is really annoying.
In this year's European Championship, Scotland drew 0-0 with England, but was then eliminated. The English media coverage of the match was not recognized by the Scottish public.
"All the news is about England." Scottish broadcaster Stuart Cosgrove said that although Scotland played the game badly, the result of the tie with England was portrayed by England as a small victory for Scotland, which was really despicable.
The "Brexit effect" is projected onto the European Championships
Euro 2020 is the first Euro 2020 after Brexit, and England's support in the region and across Europe is extremely low. Foreign media commented that Brexit has exacerbated the contradictions between the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe.
Italian newspapers said before the final that the "Brexit effect" had given Italy the vast majority of support. Some claim that "the whole world is supporting Italy", while others are slightly more modest, saying that "the whole of Europe is supporting Italy".
But an article in Italian newspaper La Stampa was blunt, saying england teams were trying to make up for britain's "humiliation" in brexit negotiations by playing in the European Cup.
On July 11, 2021, local time, London, England's Marcus Rashford conceded a penalty in the penalty shootout. /IC photo
At the European Championship, even the EU leaders openly supported the Italian team. According to Reuters, a spokesman for European Commission President von der Leyen also made it clear in Brussels that he would support Italy in the European Cup final.
The British "Independent" commented that the European Commission is usually neutral in sports competitions between member states, and Brexit may be the reason why the European Commission president has made such a clear statement this time.
The European Championship came to an end, the destruction of the Dreams of the English team and the carnival in the streets of London on the eve of the final, the runner-up of the European Championship made the United Kingdom the "number one loser", and this defeat was undoubtedly a heavy blow to England.
The European Cup is not only a sports event, the contradiction between the United Kingdom and other european countries after Brexit, the increasingly divided public sentiment in Scotland, after the European Cup, the "gunpowder" between Europe and the United Kingdom is even stronger.
【Know a little more】
It could become the only European Championship ever held in a multinational manner
Euro 2020, which has been delayed for a year, was finally held in 11 European countries on June 11 this year. The idea of a multi-country European Championship was proposed by Michel Platini, then president of UEFA nine years ago. This is unprecedented, and in the past, the European Championships have generally been held in different cities in the same country.
According to NBC, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the tournament, Euro 2020 was originally scheduled to be held in 12 European cities. However, due to the disqualification of Dublin and Bilbao for not being able to promise spectator admission, UEFA eventually added the Olympic Stadium in Seville, Spain, and decided to hold the European Championship in 11 European countries.
But according to the BBC, the transnational European Championship was rejected by UEFA president Ceferin after the match, "Euro 2020 is unfair to fans and a challenge for the team." The distance difference between different teams needing to travel during the European Championship is too large. ”
Among them, the Swiss team needs to travel 15485 kilometers across the country, while the Scottish team travels only 1108 kilometers. "I will no longer support [the Format of the European Championship]." Cheferin said.
Beijing News trainee reporter Hou Wuting
Edited by Zhang Lei, Proofread by Li Shihui