Let’s hope Little Englanders don’t use Scots as excuse to cause trouble
THE one thing rarely, if ever, said about the National Socialist German Workers Party is that they dressed really smartly.
Sure, the Nazis, to afford them their catchier title, killed people on the basis of race, religion, sexuality, ethnicity, nationality and for any one of a thousand other reasons in between, but you could take one home to meet the parents knowing their appearance would impress.
I bring up such fascist fashion observations because these days those who refuse to believe Adolf Hitler and his henchman might have been the baddies look anything but the master race.
When old Adolf spoke about Germany taking over the world, he did so knowing that his army were young, trim, tough and ready for a fight. They wouldn’t have got anywhere near Paris had the Wehrmacht been fat, drunk and wearing only denim shorts.
That’s the biggest problem with today’s Nazis – they are slobs as well as racist. Standards really have dropped in the far-right community.
In Dortmund last week, on the day some pathetic lone terrorist attempted to threaten our way of life, Germany played England in a friendly match.
The visiting fans were clearly affected by events back in the capital city with many of them spending the days drinking, swearing, making the lives of the locals a living hell, singing songs about both World Wars, the IRA, the Pope and all manner of garbage deemed acceptable banter.
And during the German national anthem, they held out their arms to represent the Battle of Britain planes.
Of course, those pictured indulging in such hilarious wit tended to be bald, fat and badly dressed. Tattooed as well, which almost goes without saying, as these mouth-breathers have decided evolution is for other people and they prefer to read the riot act than read books.
These brave Brits never fought in a war. Unless you consider smashing up a café in Marseille as being in battle.
They claim to be patriotic except many of them were caught making Nazi salutes to the bemused but quite possibly not surprised locals whose families, let’s be clear, would have been far happier that Hitler came a cropper than anyone living in Britain.
The travelling English fans do this quite a lot. They sing about bombing Germans and then pay tribute to those Allies who fought in the war by Sieg Heiling. Of all the “C” words you could use to describe this lot, confused is the one I shall choose for this family newspaper.
This isn’t some anti-English rant. In contrast, I have good friends who go to almost every England away game and they tell me the rise of the right over Europe is being reflected among a large section of their supporters who, to be fair, have more or less been well-behaved for some years.
The guys I know still enjoy the jaunts. It’s easy enough to get away from the pubs where trouble might happen and wander the streets in some far off city enjoying all that is good in the world.
But then they get to the game and songs with lyrics such as “If it wasn’t for us you’d be Krauts” get an airing from pissed-up simpletons who were born decades after the war.
“The old racist stuff has slowly crept back in,” one who was in Germany told me with a sigh.
The FA have threatened sanctions against England fans, with chairman Greg Clarke describing the chanting in Dortmund as “inappropriate, disrespectful and disappointing.”
We shall see what happens, but it will probably be nothing.
England and their supporters will be in Glasgow on June 10 for a now much-anticipated World Cup qualifier. The game is on a Saturday with a 5pm kick-off. I am beginning to get a bit worried.
What with Brexit, a second independence referendum and certain outlets down south trotting out the line that us Scots are all scroungers and have been stealing from the English for years, is it too far a leap to think that this will aid some of the more hard of thinking Little Engerlanders to see their trip north as an excuse to go looking for trouble?
I hope I’m wrong, I often am, and I do feel for decent England fans, my mates, who want to drink some beer, have a laugh and find out what haggis pakora is.
But there are many – way too many – who will become all Butcher of Cumberland once passing Carlisle and bring out the offensive song sheet and 1939 arm gestures.
What was it Gareth Southgate, the England manager, said just the other day? “I always say being an island saved us in 1945, I’m not so sure it’s helped us ever since.” Quite.