Nasty jingoism of England football fans fuelled by Brexit – Yorkshire Post Letters

THE Hungarian foreign minister is wrong to equate the racist chanting at English footballers with the booing of the Italian national anthem in the Euro 2021 final in July.

However, he rightly reminds us that we also have our share of inane idiots who, while professing loyalty to the Queen, are actually an embarrassment to our Sovereign Lady. She would be ashamed of their conduct which dishonours her.

The manager and players of England’s football team are to be congratulated on their exemplary conduct on and off the field.

However, England’s willingness to be seen as a leading European nation in competitive sport stands in sharp contrast to how England has willingly distanced itself from co-operation with other European nations, leading to a nasty element of jingoism amongst many supporters who seem to think that sporting prowess and military victories make England superior.

I wager that the vast majority of these fools will be ardent Brexiteers.

The lack of a distinct English political identity, subsumed as it is into the relatively centralised United Kingdom, defines this paradox.

The French speak of L’Angleterre when they mean Royaume-Uni in a way that irritates the Scots and Welsh. England finds itself in the unique position of being a nation without power and status as these have been transferred to the UK. England won’t be a nation like any other until it is itself independent and sovereign and freed from the shackles of imperial history.

Until a new political arrangement forces England to renounce its inherent right to run this archipelago, this country will continue to demonstrate a “superiority inferiority” complex that is holding both us and Scotland and Wales back from playing a full part in the ongoing development of our continent, irrespective of any future return to the EU.

The impending independence of Scotland and political unification of Ireland will hopefully provide the required salutary lesson and force England to realise its full potential as a leading European nation.

From: Henry Cobden, Ilkley.

UNTIL football’s governing bodies ban teams whose fans hurl racist and homophobic abuse at players, I’m afraid matches will continue to be sullied by this moronic minority. The current punishments offer no deterrent to countries like Hungary.

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