Boris with picture of England team doing Nazi salute
RUSSIA has taunted Boris Johnson over the poisoned spy row by posting the infamous photograph of England’s 1938 football team doing Nazi salutes.
Soviet foreign minister Sergei Lavrov sent the snap to the Foreign Secretary after he likened Russia’s hosting of the World Cup to Hitler’s 1936 Olympics.
The photograph shows Sir Stanley Matthews and teammates performing the salute in Berlin, with the prior agreement of the British ambassador.
Mr Johnson has said Russian president Vladimir Putin would “glory” in holding the World Cup after the attempt to kill Sergei Skripal in Britain.
He told the Foreign Affairs Select Committee last month: “I think the comparison with 1936 is certainly right. It is an emetic prospect of Putin glorying in this sporting event.”
Mr Lavrov – who has a famously fractious relationship with Mr Johnson – was yesterday accused of trying to deflect scrutiny over the Skripal probe.
A source said: “Lavrov is deliberately trying to provoke the UK government by suggesting it was complicit in fascism. They are trying to draw everybody’s attention away from the evil they are still carrying out today by bringing up mistakes made the best part of 100 years ago.”
Sir Stanley Matthews’ son Stanley Jnr said of the 1938 pic: “None of the British players really wanted to salute but were told by the FA ‘you’d have to do it or you’d never play for England again’. I’m sure my father wouldn’t like appeasing the Germans. He wasn’t happy doing it, but felt he had to, because of the pressure from the FA and the ambassador.” As the Skripal Russia’s Lavrov sent pic to Boris, left row raged on – and the country’s UN ambassador threateningly accused the UK of “playing with fire” – the Russian embassy in London yesterday requested a meeting with Mr Johnson.
A spokesman said: “We hope for a constructive response and are counting on a meeting in the very near future.”
But a Government source said Russia had no intention of talks and added: “Lavrov has turned down the chance for discussions and this is the latest Russian disinformation attempt.”