Scottish newspaper The National has been met with a furious criticism after calling on Spain to beat England in the final of Euro 2024.
England will battle Spain at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Sunday night, while the Scots were knocked out in the group stage. There appears to be no love lost between those north of the border and their English counterparts.
According to the Mirror, that can be seen with The National’s frontpage for the Saturday edition of their paper. The frontpage shows Spain star Rodri kicking an English tourist shaped like a football, with a beach in the background.
The headline for the edition reads ‘Time For Revenge!’ before a subtitle that says: “Our message to Spain: Save us from an England win (or we’ll never hear the end of it).”
A short editorial comment then followed which read: “Every summer they fill up your beaches. They drink all your beer. They make a mess of your plazas. They eat fried breakfasts all day instead of your wonderful food. They retire in your towns and sponge off your public services.”
The editorial concludes with a short message in Spanish, which says: “Ni siquiera se molestan en aprender el idioma!” That translates as reading: “They don’t even bother to learn the language!”
The frontpage sparked a furious reaction from fans on both sides of the border. One wrote: “As an English person living and working in Scotland and having done so for 14 years I actually find this quite xenophobic.
“It wouldn’t be considered acceptable the other way around. A bit of banter is one thing but this is just unpleasant and unnecessary.”
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Another added: “Do the Scottish not got on holiday to Spain, fill up beaches and eat fried breakfasts – or is this equal opportunity self hatred?” A third said: “Why are the Scottish always against the English? I’m always supportive of the Scottish, because Scotland is a lovely country, why not grow up and show you’re adults? Very sad.”
A fourth wrote: “Xenophobic cover. As a Scot, I totally reject this. You are insulting Scotland. It does not correspond to Scottish values at all. You should read Scottish Enlightenment philosophy. Scots have strongly contributed to English football with Alex Ferguson, etc. Shameful.”
While Spain would be eyeing a record fourth European title, having won it in 1964, 2008 and 2012, the Three Lions would be hoping to land their first title.
Gareth Southgate’s men would want to banish the heartbreak of three years ago, when they lost to Italy on penalty shootout inside Wembley stadium at Euro 2020.
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