Little United Kingdom
On the island, however, it should be noted that the support front for the Whites is far from compact. According to an online poll conducted by Good Morning Britain, 63% of fans from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would support Italy. The reasons for this antipathy are similar from one nation to another. “Wales has suffered centuries of oppression from England, and Boris Johnson’s government only thinks of us when it has time,” said journalist Laura Kemp in the regional newspaper Wales Online. Not to mention those “Neanderthals” who destroy bars, squares and gardens wherever they go, ”he added, speaking of the English fans, their“ arrogance ”and“ presumption ”.
The heart of the critics is also represented by “Football’s coming home”, the Euro 1996 anthem, which is often sung now by English fans. As critics point out, this is a presumptuous phrase, given England’s repeated failures since winning (again at Wembley) the 1966 World Cup. ‘Is football coming home? So England would own this sport? I don’t think so, ”former Scottish international and Liverpool legend Graeme Souness wrote in the Times.
Political cheer
In short, it is not excluded that from some window in Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast or Dublin some Italian tricolor will appear on Sunday evening. Without forgetting the real political endorsements. Like the one done via Twitter by Ogra Sinn Fein, the youth section of Sinn Fein, the Irish political party of independence, republican and socialist inspiration. In the official profile of the movement, immediately after the success of the Lions over Denmark which certified the presence of the Southgate national team at the final of the continental competition, a photo of the eleven of Italy appeared, deployed in midfield for a pre-match photo in these European Championships. .
Accompanied by the photo, part of the text of “Bella Ciao”, the popular song of the Resistance which in recent days has turned into a sort of unofficial anthem for the Azzurri supporters at the European Championships, after being sung by the fans of Italy together with the Spaniards before the semifinal and having been relaunched by an Arab commentator in a surreal and passionate commentary on the decisive goal scored by Jorginho from a penalty.
“One morning I woke up, oh beautiful bye, beautiful bye, beautiful bye, bye, bye!” it was read in recent days in the official account of the Ogra Sinn Fein with a lot of tricolor flag and a reference to the Twitter profile of the “twinned” organization of the Young Italian Communists. Support is welcome from a football point of view, also considering the movement’s motto: “Tiocfaidh ár lá”, a Gaelic phrase that can be translated as “Our day will come”, which has always been the slogan of the Irish independence group that advocates the creation of a single nation among the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Phrase that can really be a good omen for the Azzurri in the Lions’ den.