England friendly: players on their knees, howling from the fans

(ANSA) – MIDDLESBROUGH, 02 JUNE – It was not a good start for the English national team who today played their first friendly in preparation for Euro 2020. The opponent of the Southgate national team was Austria, 1-0 defeat with goals from 19-year-old Bukayo Saka, while Jude Bellingam, with his 17 years and 338 days, has become the youngest player in the national team to have been deployed since 2003 to date. But what worries, in addition to Alexnder-Arnold’s injury which is now in danger of being ‘cut’, was the behavior of the public, especially in view of the European Championships and the matches that will be played at Wembley. It should have been a party, because England returned to play in front of fans, specifically the more than eight thousand present at the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough. But the loud howls addressed to the 22 players as they knelt on the pitch, before the kick-off in solidarity with the ‘BlackLivesMatter’ campaign, make it clear that the appeals against racism and all forms of intolerance were not there. accepted by everyone, and after the race even Southgate regretted it. (HANDLE).

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