EURO 2024 ⚽

[DuncinToffee]

EURO 2024 kicks off in Munich on Friday 14 June and ends with the final in Berlin on Sunday 14 July

@EboueEboue @DuncinToffee

I don't read the papers, I was just going off Twitter and TikTok and as a United fan I probably get more about us than other clubs. But searched for Saka and seen the back pages now 🤬 and it's exactly what I mean.

Saka, like Mainoo, seems a genuinely lovely lad, grounded, works hard etc. I remember all the other players talking about uplifting and wonderful to be around he was at the last tournament. He's difficult not to like.

Hope he makes them eat their negativity.

I haven’t seen any coverage on this, but it makes me feel very sad that this is the case. It feels like a horrible re-run of the Euro 2020 final aftermath.

I love Saka. He has grown into an outstanding player and he also comes across as a very nice person. He has worked extremely hard to make the most of his talent, and he’s now a very experienced and talented member of both the Arsenal and England teams.

I don’t know as much about Mainoo, but from what I’ve read over the last few months, he’s also an excellent young player with bags of potential. He’s been fantastic for Manchester United and I’m sure he’ll be an asset for England - I remember hoping Southgate would pick him for the squad and was really pleased when he did.

I can't find anything about Saka, only what Ian Wright said and to be fair, I don't want to read what idiots say anyway.

I love Saka and was so worried after the last Euros, but he has just improved and improved.

He is a really bright guy and he knows that the scum criticising him don't even have a millionth of his talent. He also knows that it is only a few idiots including Russian bots doing it.

Friday night's game was disappointing, especially as it was quite a strong starting line-up compared with Monday's. Still, I'd rather lose friendlies than tournament games.

Are any of you going out to Germany for it?

In most tournaments, the host country does better than their ranking and previous form would suggest. There is a home advantage.

Agreed on both counts! Friday’s team hadn’t had much experience of playing together though, which I think probably partly explains the result.

I’m hoping we do much better in the actual competition, especially as the team is excellent and has some very experienced players. I am worried we’ll rely too much on our best players though - e.g. Kane, Bellingham and Saka.

Also, I do find it strange that Southgate has included Aaron Ramsdale in the team. He’s only played 6 games this past season, so he hasn’t got much recent game time under his belt, which makes him too inexperienced (in my opinion) for an international competition. What do others think? I think Southgate will mostly use Pickford as the main goalkeeper though, which makes sense. I love Pickford - he’s very experienced and a fab keeper.

I’m going to be (very) bold and put my prediction here already: England to win their group in the group stages and to play Germany in the final.

Hello everyone - can I join you?
Our wallchart has gone up at home tonight and dd1 & I have done fantasy football.
I was out Fri night but dd said it was awful. In terms of atmosphere we were at Belgium game back in April and it was a bit lame that night too.
Roll on Scotland vs Germany on Friday!

Join the MN fantasy league too if you like, a link was posted earlier in the thread.

We have 4 teams so far

@JasonTindallsTan
Joined

FWIW, Saka is clearly a huge favourite amongst the fans - he got some of the biggest cheers of the night v Iceland when the line up and subs were announced before kick off, and when he came on. I hope he knows that is the true reflection of how he is seen and valued by England supporters, not the poison spouted by disgraceful racists in the media and hiding behind their screens.

Yes, I noticed the cheers he got too.

I have a theory that they meant to use a picture of Mainoo and got their black players muddled up again.
Otherwise it's batshit to blame Saka if he only played 25 mins.
It's exactly what ETH meant when he was interviewed after the cup final about British media.

@Ezekiela
"There is a home advantage"
Do you mean like Brazil had in their World Cup?

I mean like Greece when they hosted the Euros.

Brazil got to the semi-finals, whereas in the two preceding AND two subsequent tournaments they were knocked out in the quarter finals, so what is your point?

@Ezekiela
My point is only 3 out of 16 Euros and 6 out of 22 World Cups have been won by the host country. Less than you would think.
You're welcome.

Good to see that other sections of the media are criticising (or at least drawing attention to) the use by some of Saka's pic in stories of England's Iceland defeat. This kind of sly racism cannot be allowed to lie unchallenged.

Good to see. Even if the BBC was one of the main culprits...

Where did I say that the host country always wins? I said they often do better than their form and rankings would otherwise suggest. Your very own example (Brazil going one round further when they hosted than in the two preceding and two later tournaments) illustrates this nicely.

Not much point continuing this discussion if you're determined to continue to argue about something I never said. No need for the sarcastic sign-off, either.

How long is it on for?

14 June to 14 July.

To answer an earlier question, I've got Serbia in my work sweepstake.

I’m looking forward to it! Euros and World Cups are always fun in our house as I’m 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 and husband is 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿. Our son flips between the 2 lol.

I always have a bet with my husband to see how long it takes the English commentators to mention “66” and I’m never disappointed 😉🤣

I have my “No Scotland No Party” t-shirt at the ready!! I did have hopes for our boys, but losing some key players late in the day hasn’t been the best news! Hopefully we can pull it out the bag and if and it’s a big if we can make it out the groups there will be the biggest party ever in Scotland even if we go no further…….🥳😉🤣

How are they even allowed to play in the Euros or any football competition for that matter?

I have just been reading about the Ultras. Apparently, one fan a month is killed in football violence in Serbia and any Serbian journalists who talk about the issues need police protection for years:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2024/06/11/police-braced-500-serbia-hooligans-target-england-euro-2024/

Police are braced for a repeat of the rioting that has plagued England at the European Championship when their latest campaign begins against Serbia.
Officers in Germany are gearing up for the prospect of major fan disorder ahead of what has been branded the most “high-risk” match of Euro 2024.
England’s previous Euros campaigns have been marred by riots, most recently before their 2016 opener against Russia, as well as the final of the last tournament three years ago.
A toxic combination of factors has rendered Sunday night’s Serbia game more at risk of a repeat than any match since the climax of Euro 2020.
They include:

• Germany being the most accessible foreign host of a Euros or World Cup for England fans since 2016, with police in Gelsenkirchen expecting an estimated 40,000 to travel there for the game.
• Intelligence indicating they will be joined from Serbia by up to 500 hooligans eight years since England fans were brutally ambushed by Russian thugs at Euro 2016.
• A Sunday 9pm kick-off in a host city by far the smallest at this summer’s tournament, increasing the threat of clashes between rival fans.
• Potential tension over Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and the 25th anniversary of the Nato bombing of Belgrade amid a history of crowd trouble at matches between England and Serbia’s youth teams.

Warnings about the powder-keg fixture have come from Gelskenkirchen’s chief of police, Peter Both, who told Telegraph Sport the “high-risk” game carried a threat of rioting akin to that which plagued England’s previous Euros campaigns and saw England and Russia both threatened with expulsion from the 2016 tournament. French riot police were forced to crack down hard on Russia and England fans CREDIT: AP/Darko Bandic“There is risk, of course, but we are very, very well prepared,” Both said. “In principle, our riot-control units will keep a low profile. But if individuals or groups seek to cause disorder or engage in violent behaviour, these police units will be there. We will be there and we will intervene and take proactive action.” Stressing he expected most of those travelling to Gelsenkirchen would be “absolutely peaceful”, he added: “The biggest challenge for us, for police, will be to identify violent, disruptive groups at an early stage and to separate them from peaceful and law-abiding fans.” That could include up to 500 violence-seeking Serbian ultras expected to travel to the tournament in Germany and potentially to Sunday’s match. “We don’t have concrete information but we can’t rule it out,” Both added. “So we have to prepare.” Fan violence is rife in the Serbian club game, in which hooligan firms with names such as ‘The Gravediggers’ and ‘Head Hunters’ have been linked to organised crime groups accused of carrying out brutal murders, rapes and kidnappings. Fan violence is rife in the Serbian club game CREDIT: Getty Images/Talha OzturkEnglish fans have been targeted during recent Champions League games and other European ties there, including when FK Crvena Zvezda – formally Red Star Belgrade – thugs attacked Manchester City supporters with sticks before a fixture between the clubs in December.Advertisement Serbia matches also have a history of rioting, which has forced the abandonment of two of their previous Euro qualifiers. As revealed by Telegraph Sport, the Football Association failed in a bid to get the serving of alcohol banned close to the venue for Sunday night’s game over fears an entire weekend’s binge drinking could fuel fan disorder. The match also takes place amid support from ultra-nationalist Serbs for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Britain has been supplying weapons to help repel, as well as ongoing ill-feeling over the UK’s role in the Nato bombing of Belgrade a quarter of a century ago. Although England and Serbia have never met at senior level since the latter became a fully independent nation in 2006, previous encounters between their Under-21 teams have been marred by clashes on and off the field, including the throwing of missiles and racist abuse of rival players by the latter’s supporters. ‘Ivan the Terrible’ and ‘The Gravediggers’: Serbia’s hooligan history that is fuelling England fearsBy Ben Rumsby They are the most savage hooligans England fans could face since being brutally ambushed by Russian thugs at the European Championship eight years ago. And when it comes to meting out extreme violence, Serbia’s vicious armies of ultras are more than a match for the combat-trained thugs Vladimir Putin allegedly unleashed at Euro 2016. Just ask the fans set upon by stick-wielding yobs in a bar when Manchester City played FK Crvena Zvezda, formerly Red Star Belgrade, in the Champions League in December, or those attacked outside their hotel when Rangers were there in the Europa League the previous year. Or those who witnessed the beating to death of a supporter with iron bars and bicycle chains before a previous Europa League meeting between Toulouse and Partizan Belgrade in the Serbian capital. With hooligan firms with names such as ‘The Gravediggers’ and ‘Head Hunters’, is it any wonder a fan is murdered in the country “every month”, according to an expert in fan culture there. This toxic mix of factors has helped make England’s Euro 2024 opener against Serbia one of the tournament’s most “high-risk” fixtures, with police in Gelsenkirchen ready for the Balkan state’s worst ultras to be among the tens of thousands of supporters to descend on the city. That these thugs tend to have closer ties to Belgrade’s biggest clubs, Red Star and Partizan, than to the national team is the only thing that could spare England fans having to face them in Germany. The same could be said of the allegiances of the Russian yobs who left England supporters fighting for their lives ahead of the country’s Euro 2016 opener against Russia. Russia and England fans clash inside Stade Velodrome at Euro 2016 CREDIT: Getty Images/Michael ReganThat followed warnings Russian hooligans planned to “absolutely obliterate” England fans, accompanied by footage claimed to show groups of men training ahead of the brutal assaults that followed. One expert on Serbian fan culture, who asked not to be identified amid the targeting of those seeking to expose the true scale of the problem there, told Telegraph Sport his nation’s ultras would not be so open about their intentions. “It’s possible that some groups of hooligans might attend,” he added, warning that England fans could even end up outnumbered at Sunday’s match. “We also have to take into consideration that there is a big Serbian diaspora living in Germany. “What we already know is that Serbia definitely will have a huge support. There is a massive interest in attending the matches. “Uefa dedicated 10,000 tickets and there has been, like, 30,000 applications for each match. These tickets are already sold. So, definitely 10,000. And even more, because we expect these kinds of German Serbs – and they are, in general, resourceful – they will find a way to get these neutral tickets. Maybe 15,000-20,000 for each match in the group stage. “The question remains if these kinds of Serbs living abroad, like Germany, Switzerland, behave better or not. Sometimes, it happens that this inner patriotism, inner nationalism happens more with these Serbs living abroad. So, they will want to show, ‘We’re Serbs’.” Serbia fixtures have fallen prey to hooliganism down the years, including two that were abandoned because of rioting during the country’s recent Euros qualifying campaigns. The first arguably cost them a place at Euro 2012 when ultras went on the rampage in their fixture against Italy in Genoa. Led by notorious hooligan ringleader Ivan Bagdanov – nicknamed ‘Ivan The Terrible’ – fans tried to attack rival supporters and police, resulting in their opponents being awarded a 3-0 victory. Ivan Bagdanov, nicknamed 'Ivan The Terrible', was detained by Italian police in Genoa CREDIT: APFour years later, Serbia forfeited another match and were docked a further three points during Euro 2016 qualifying when their supporters set upon Albania players after a drone carrying a politically-incendiary flag was flown into the stadium. And at the 2018 World Cup, the country’s fans were caught on camera brawling in the stands with Brazil followers during the sides’ match in Russia. Sunday night’s showdown between England and Serbia is the nations’ first at senior level but two notorious European Under-21 Championship qualifiers between them were also plagued by crowd trouble. The first, in 2007, witnessed racist chanting and a flare-up between players that saw both nations fined, while the second five years later was engulfed by monkey-chants directed at Danny Rose, missiles being thrown from the stands and a mass brawl on the pitch that led to bans being imposed on players and coaches from either side – including Tom Ince. An England U21 match against Serbia in 2012 resulted in players and coaches banned CREDIT: Getty Images/Srdjan StevanovicAs with England’s Euro 2016 clash with Russia, which took place after Putin annexed Crimea and amid accusations of Kremlin involvement in both the Brexit referendum and Donald Trump’s march to the US presidency, bad blood between Sunday’s opponents could extend well beyond football. Potential flashpoints include over the 25th anniversary of the Nato bombing of Belgrade, in which Britain played a key role, as well as over Putin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which the UK is providing weapons to repel but is openly supported by football fans in Serbia and many others there. So much so that, in March, the latter’s national team became the first from Europe to play Russia in a friendly since the war began. The parallels between the two nations do not end there, with Serbia accused of sliding towards an autocracy under president Aleksandar Vucic. Vucic has boasted of being a radical Red Star supporter in his youth but has more recently started an apparent crackdown on links between hooligans in the country and organised crime. That culminated in an extraordinary ongoing criminal case that began three years ago with the arrests of Partizan ultras police alleged had used a special “bunker” at the club’s stadium to carry out torture and decapitations before disposing of bodies using an industrial meat grinder. The case engulfed the president of the Football Association of Serbia, Slavisa Kokeza, who was forced to resign after being quizzed by police about his alleged links to a group also accused of plotting to assassinate Vucic. Kokeza branded the claims “dangerous lies”. Such has hooliganism been allowed to flourish in the war-torn Balkan state that those who attempt to expose the true scale of its impact on the country and its politics are putting their lives on the line. Serbian investigative journalist Brankica Stankovic needed police protection for many years after her Insajder (Insider) television programme aired such a broadcast back in 2009. Stankovic was still the subject of death threats as recently as last year and colleagues at Insajder turned down a request by Telegraph Sport to speak to her for this article for fear for her safety.

If you didn't get to the bottom of the article, at least read this:

That culminated in an extraordinary ongoing criminal case that began three years ago with the arrests of Partizan ultras who police alleged had used a special “bunker” at the club’s stadium to carry out torture and decapitations before disposing of bodies using an industrial meat grinder.