There is some self-policing at work, like the unspoken rule that if you are wearing a shirt it should only be England, not your club’s. This prevents local rivalries muddling support for the country. Those local allegiances are displayed instead on custom-made St George’s flags.
Shirts and flags were a controversial topic after Nike’s “playful update” of the cross on the back of the new home shirt. Talk of a boycott seems overstated though, the new shirts are comfortably the most popular behind the evergreen 1990 set. One older gentleman on a train into Dusseldorf gave a sermon to his party about not wearing “that gay flag,” but few seemed to be paying him much attention.
Chris Beech was in the Trabrennbahn fanzone on a reunion trip friends he met 25 years ago at Birmingham University. All were wearing new shirts. “The bigger issue with the shirt is how much it costs, not what flag is on the back.”
“We’ve been struggling to display our shirt proudly,” says his friend Tim Forshew. “We’re proud Englishmen but we don’t want to be seen as antagonising.”
“We’re conscious of the Brits abroad stereotype and we’re conscious not to play into that,” says Beech.
Later I catch non-Scouse Liverpool fan Luke O’Connor, flag draped over his shoulders on his way to the match. “I’m fairly patriotic. I can see why people moan about it but to be honest I think the kit looks smart. It doesn’t bother me too much really. It’s not the end of the world is it? It’s only a couple of colours.”