After the Switzerland match, in a corner of the concourse under the Düsseldorf Arena, a number of England fans are lingering and celebrating. Some are cheering “auf Wiedersehen” and waving mockingly at Swiss and German supporters. Others are singing their new chant: “There’ll be no Musiala in Berlin,” to the tune of Ten Green Bottles (or Ten German Bombers, depending on your preference). All the supporters are white, but about 50 metres away stand two young black English fans from east London.
“What a game, what an incredible atmosphere,” says one, dressed in the current mauve England shirt. And how about those penalties? “Just unbelievable. Saka rolling it into the bottom corner. We were so happy for him.” Because of what happened at the last Euros? “Yeah, and in the last week. He’s been getting so much abuse online and it was just great to see him stick it to the haters.”
If you see shots of the England support in Germany it’s difficult to pick out a face that isn’t white. But there are black and Asian fans in the mix. Sometimes it might be young people of colour amongst groups of white friends, groups of people of colour who are older and also entire families. It shows the desire of England fans from ethnic minorities to be part of the action, to savour the ebullient atmosphere that has been perhaps the highlight of Euro 2024. But their experience is not always the same as that of the white majority.
Nilesh Chauhan is the campaign organiser for Fans for Diversity. He has been organising watch parties for south Asian England fans at home and came out to the Euros to do some work with the Football Association, helping to arrange a tour for Jewish England fans to the site of the former concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen. He also took in some matches, including England’s against Serbia. “I had a really good time,” he says, having, like many England supporters, returned home. “It was a good experience and I’d love to do it again, probably for longer. But there were a few little incidents …”
Chauhan relates the experience of being the only Asian supporter in a bar when England fans were acting inappropriately – “You know, pulling moonies and stuff” – though “there was nothing said against us at the time”. Then there was the moment before the Serbia game when an England fan “just popped out of nowhere” and told him to boo the Serbian anthem. “I was actually quite worried,” Chauhan says. “I said: ‘No, I don’t want to do that,’ but I didn’t really want to get into a confrontation with him. I was trying to ignore him as well, because I had a feeling he had a few drinks in him.”
Chauhan said the man disappeared as quickly as he had arrived, his seat clearly being elsewhere in the ground. But this moment echoed what he describes as his “worst ever experience watching England”, when he was a teenager in 2005 during a friendly against the Netherlands at Villa Park, a 0-0 draw.
“I was a young lad and I went with my dad and my brother and there was a chant called: ‘Stand up if you’re English,’” Chauhan recalls. “Now we stood up – me and my dad and my brother – and we got laughed at. We got told to sit down. It was actually terrifying. So when I was going this time round it was always on my mind. One hundred per cent you’ve got to be aware of where you are and how you behave and how you conduct yourself.”
Later in the night after the win against Switzerland, I overhear five England fans having a conversation. They are all Asian, three of them older, two of them much younger and they are debating the contemporary nature of racism within the England support. One of the younger lads, wearing the blue 1990 shirt, says it doesn’t exist any more, to which the older guys pretty much laugh in response. “It’s not on the surface,” one says, “but it’s still there.” Eventually the younger ones agree and after a short while they head off to bed.
The three older guys are from the Midlands and have spent their lives not just as passionate football fans but actively involved in the game, coaching, mentoring, driving their kids around and even financing local teams to help to grow the game in the south Asian community. Friends for 50 years, they have come to follow England for the first time. In previous years, one says: “I’d only ever go to a tournament when I knew England were already out.”
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Let’s quickly repeat: these are English fans, passionate for their country, but they do not feel included. “We are England till we die, we just want to be let in,” they say. “Just invite us in, we’ve got so much to give.” That hasn’t happened, though and instead they take care never to wear an England shirt to games, make sure to get tickets in the family stand and, throughout their road trip across Germany, have had to message home after each match to let their loved ones know they are safe. “Our primary consideration is safety,” they say.
They all add that they never feel this way watching England play cricket or rugby (though they have stories to tell about golf).
They have had a great time on this tour and acknowledge the concerns relate only to a small minority. “But it only takes one,” they say, “and you can never tell when it might be.”