England’s Shame

For shame England…. no, no, no, not the England football team who played their hearts out yesterday at Wembley in the Euro2021 final against Italy, and certainly not for the three gutsy young men who tried for penalties. No the shame lies firmly in the racist yobos who, undoubtedly, could not hit a barn door let alone bear the pressure of attempting to score a penalty against a giant of man, in front of a nation holding its collective breath.

Those screaming abuse both in person and on social media are quite likely of a similar ilk to those who forced their drunken way into Wembley stadium without tickets. By all accounts they stole seats from those who had paid, and hurled abuse at anyone who stood in their way. They couldn’t have cared less that their ignorant and shameful behaviour was witnessed not just by those who waited with bated breath for England to win after fifty-five years; they couldn’t have cared less that children saw and heard their foul language; they couldn’t have cared less that the world now looks on them and, by association, England as a bigoted and racist country.

Jadon Malik Sancho is twenty-one. Born in Camberwell, London to parents from Trinidad and Tobago – a Crown colony until 1962 – Sancho is considered one of the world’s best young players, a player of technical skill and creativity.

Bukayo Ayoyinka Saka is nineteen. Born in Ealing, London to parents from Nigeria – a Crown colony until 1960 – Saka plays for Arsenal and became the first player born in the 21st century to play in a Premier League match.

Marcus Rashford MBE is twenty-three. Born in Manchester and whose grandmother came from St Kitts – a Crown colony until 1983. Not only is Rashford a superb footballer but he has used his platform to campaign for those who are homeless, against child hunger and to encourage literacy. His activism and philanthropy was recognised by Her Majesty who made him a Member of the British Empire.

I wonder how many of those screaming racial slurs at these young men have done anything for anyone. Perhaps a reminder for these louts that, along with their grandfathers and great grandfathers who most likely were called to arms during the second world war, so too were men from Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago, and St Kitts and Nevis.

45,000 Nigerian soldiers served in the 81st and 82nd West African Division of the British Armed Forces, mainly in Africa and Asia, and whose country was used a staging post for campaigns in North Africa. 

Men from the Caribbean had been recruited, or volunteered, for the British West India Regiments of the British Army from 1795 until 1962 when newly independent federations and countries formed their own defense forces. 

Following the outbreak of World War I many from the Caribbean Crown colonies answered the call for volunteers. Initially the British West Indies Regiment (BWIR) served in support roles, however, as it became clear more men were needed in fighting battalions, the volunteers served in Europe, North Africa and Palestine. After the successful campaign to clear enemy posts close to the British line in Palestine and which involved advancing across three miles of open land under heavy fire, the commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion BWIR, Major General Sir Edward Chaytor, wrote, ‘Outside my own division there are no troops I would sooner have with me than the BWIs who have won the highest opinions of all who have been with them during our operations here’.” 

The BWIR was disbanded in 1927 but during World War II nearly 10,000 British West Indians volunteered in the British Army, and in April 1944 the Caribbean Regiment was formed from 1,200 volunteers who served mainly in the Middle East and Italy. 

These three young British men, Saka, Rashford and Sancho should hold their heads high for their heritage is as proud and strong as they are. They must not let the benighted ravings of those only able to dribble beer and abuse to sully their extraordinary efforts both off and on the field of football.

And if Saka, Rashford and Sancho are in any doubt, they should remember those immortal words penned by Oscar Hammerstein and Richard Rodgers for the musical Carousel, now more famously associated with another football club, Liverpool, and which today is relevant for the whole England team.

Walk on through the wind

Walk on through the rain

Or your dreams be tossed and blown

Walk on! Walk on! With hope in your heart

And you’ll never walk alone

You’ll never walk alone