Euro 2020/2021

[FunkMonk]

Make no mistake, if Chiellini did that to one of our players I would be demanding a public trial and execution, pretending that Piqué or Busquets haven't done that foul a hundred times before 

It's the beautiful game 

[Duque de Bragança]

Make no mistake, if Chiellini did that to one of our players I would be demanding a public trial and execution, pretending that Piqué or Busquets haven't done that foul a hundred times before 

Ah, Busquets...

[Jacob]

My opinions on the current topics:

Chiellini's foul: it's the kind of thing I hate when done agains a team I support, and that I think is a little dirty but grudgingly respect when done by a team I do support. It's certainly something I've done myself while playing (though not frequently). The Italians - in my eyes - do it too frequently, and it's one of the reasons I tend to dislike them as a team.

Taking medals off: I have a mild preference for people keeping the medals on and being proud, but I can see it the other way. Not a big deal, IMO.

Booing national anthems: a bit tacky, but no big deal. In Danish we sometimes use the term "in a witch's cauldron" (in Danish, natch) to describe the intensity of playing in a stadium packed with opposing fans. IMO it's all part of the game, though I have a preference for not booing, booing is fine. Prior to the semi, Danish players were asked how they felt about going to play in front of a hostile audience in Wembley, and the consensus was variations of "it's going to be an awesome, once-in-a-lifetime experience, can't wait." And conversely, "then, at Wembley, it sounded like the Italians outnumbered the English" was an apt description of the response to the Italian goal - and having booed the anthem prior, just feeds into the psychology of that. In short, it's not something I can get too worked up about.

[Sheilbh]

Agree with Jacob - and on the medals I think Guardiola who kisses his loser's medals and keeps them up as a spur onto winning next time. But I've always liked that idea of wear your loss and internalise it into the anger/motivation to do better next time. I think it was a big thing for Ferguson too.

Separately on Wembley a few points people have been making that are interesting - so there were no controls on Wembley Way (the road leading up to Wembley which is quite open and big). You would expect that to be closed except to ticketholders, instead there were about 200,000 people there and only 60k tickets sold. Basically there was no perimeter control whatsoever until you got to the stadium (part of this is a problem a few English stadiums have of lots of residential buildings quite close to the stadium so it's difficult to have an outer ring), you would apparently expect an outer perimeter about 1/2 a mile around the stadium. I think it's also problematic that the business model of Wembley is to charge extortionate prices for all sorts of hospitality (like drinks etc) which sort of encourages people to get tanked outside of Wembley beforehand rather than the model in some more modern stadiums (I think Spurs?) of trying to encourage ticket holding fans to spend a few hours at the stadium.

The footage that went viral last night as English fans kicking off after the game wasn't from after the game it was apparently people with no tickets who'd breached the security basically getting tackled/fought by fans with tickets - because there was an inadequate security and multiple security breaches. From a sixty-something England fan (with a ticket) who left after 70 minutes "We are done. I just think a sporting occasion like this is about enjoyment and the atmosphere, not violence. Entering here there were thugs basically trying to storm the gates, there was no policing, no one checked covid tests. There were people standing here without tickets in other people's seats and then there was violence."

I totally agree with the people saying we can't have a tournament with games at Wembley at this point - based on the last two games there is no reason to believe that the FA can control that stadium. I think it might have been particularly bad - for various reasons (the amount of videos I've seen of people just taking bumps of coke in the open while people around them are cheering, England doing well, and this being the first big event after 15 months of confinement) - but it's ultimately on the authorities and the FA who own that stadium to anticipate and manage that and they just haven't. There were warnings

Also on the racism angle the Australian FA have issued a statement condemning a news channel there who reported it as "Three black players failed in penalty shoot out which England lost 3-2 to Italy". I cannot understand how that news channel thought that was the way to cover that story

[FunkMonk]

On the subject of booing, my wife was horrified that the English fans were booing the Italian kickers during their penalties. She thought it was "rude" and "felt bad" for the Italians.

I just kinda laughed at her   

[Valmy]

On the subject of booing, my wife was horrified that the English fans were booing the Italian kickers during their penalties. She thought it was "rude" and "felt bad" for the Italians.

I just kinda laughed at her   

Does she get offended when people waive their hands to distract opposing free throw shooters in Basketball?

[Sheilbh]

Also it feels like food triggering may continue a little bit - from Joe Barton (the writer of the amazing Giri/Haji and a long suffering Spurs fan)

Joe Barton
@JoeBarton_
We improve their national dish with the gentle introduction of pineapple and this is how they repay us?

[Valmy]

Italians put all kinds of stuff on pizza, stuff certainly no American would ever dream of putting on it. I don't know how weirded out they are by pineapple as a topping.

[Maladict]

Italians put all kinds of stuff on pizza, stuff certainly no American would ever dream of putting on it. I don't know how weirded out they are by pineapple as a topping.

Go over there and ask for a pineapple pizza in a restaurant. 

[Richard Hakluyt]

I'm hoping the Italians are in on the joke, that way all parties can have a laugh about a fairly innocent bit of trolling.

[Richard Hakluyt]

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g187860-d2719095-r143664658-Pizzeria_Ristorante_Gaston-Merano_Province_of_South_Tyrol_Trentino_Alto_Adige.html

South Tyrol though 

[Barrister]

Italians put all kinds of stuff on pizza, stuff certainly no American would ever dream of putting on it. I don't know how weirded out they are by pineapple as a topping.

I am nationally obligated to point out that "Hawaiian" pizza was invented in Canada.

They'd probably be as weirded out as north americans would be by artichokes on a pizza.

[Tonitrus]

Pineapple on pizza is an atrocity.

But a place in Alaska had one with pears, and it was divine. 

[crazy canuck]

Their team didn't do shit and they are celebrating their rival barely lost to Italy one of the greatest football powerhouses in the world in a Euro Final? Pretty pathetic, what a bunch of losers.

It is so obvious that you don't understand football

I wouldn't celebrate Mexico losing in the World Cup finals if the US went out in pool play. Because they have already have far outclassed us. Sure I would prefer they lose but the idea I would be doing some kind of victory dance would be pathetic. Yeah! We are trash but Mexico is only 2nd and not 1st in the world!

Your perceptions of Mexico - being a citizen of the world's only superpower over the last 30 yours or so, may be just a tad different from the average Scottish person's perception of England.

Ok first of all Scotland has been a part of a global power for centuries they are hardly some trod upon little country they have been doing the trodding, so what does that have to do with anything? That got them just as many football championships as it got us.

We are talking about Scotland today.  You might be aware of the  separatist movement there at the moment.

[Barrister]

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g187860-d2719095-r143664658-Pizzeria_Ristorante_Gaston-Merano_Province_of_South_Tyrol_Trentino_Alto_Adige.html

South Tyrol though 

On my only trip to Italy (where we had the legendary Cortina Languish meet-up), we drove into the country after landing in Frankfurt, so our first stop was in South Tyrol.  I thought it was a wonderful part of the country (though I was initially thrown by the bilingual Italian-German signs).

I didn't have any pineapple, but my very first experience with pizza in Italy was a speck pizza in South Tyrol.