F@*#ING HELL!
Southgate’s heroes to turn the air blue
GARETH SOUTHGATE has no problem with his England stars swearing in Croatia tonight.
The Three Lions will play their first game behind closed doors in the Nations League showdown at the HNK Rijeka Stadium.
It means the 8,200-capacity ground will be eerily quiet and any colourful language from the players and benches could be caught on air.
But boss Southgate said: “We’ve spent two years encouraging them to speak, so to stop them speaking now would be slightly against what we have been trying to work on.
“It’s for the television companies to decide where they put their microphones. It’s something we can’t prepare for, other than we train in the same
environment every day of the week. That’s all the preparation we need, really.” The ban on fans is part of Croatia’s punishment after a swastika was marked on their pitch before a Euro 2016 home qualifier against Italy. Some radio stations have got engineers ready to turn the volume down on their broadcasts should swearing take place. But asked if he and his England team-mates would be toning things down, Manchester City defender John Stones said: “No, definitely not.
“It’s part and parcel of football (bad language).
“Emotions run high and maybe the TV people will watch where they put the microphones.
“It’s something (no fans) that will be a change. But we will be used to it, training every day at St George’s Park.
“This is on a bigger scale, but we spoke about it during the week, how to handle it.”
Stones insists the lack of atmosphere will not faze England as they look to gain some revenge for their World Cup semi-final exit against Croatia.
He added: “We spoke about what we’re coming into. That we’re coming into this game with none of our fans and especially none of their fans, which will play a bigger part on their behalf.
“I’ve not played in an empty stadium since my FA Youth Cup days. I don’t think we will focus on it too much. We trained on what to do on the pitch and not focus on what’s off the pitch.”