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England fans slammed for singing banned WW2 song during Euro 2024 warmup game
Published 13:44 4 Jun 2024 BST
Updated 13:55 4 Jun 2024 BST
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The chant has been labelled 'embarrassing' and 'awful'
England fans have been criticised after footage emerged of some singing a banned World War Two song during a Euro 2024 warmup game.
The Three Lions took on Bosnia and Herzegovina in Newcastle on Monday evening, running out 3-0 winners in their penultimate match before travelling to Germany for the European Championships next week.
But footage shared online showed some England fans in the concourse at St James' Park singing a banned chant about Great Britain's conflict with Germany in World War Two.
The '10 German bombers' chant is about the RAF shooting down German aircraft, and has attracted controversy in the past due to its glorification of the Second World War and the mocking of German casualties during the conflict.
Reacting to the clip shared on X, many criticised the singing, describing it as "embarrassing".
One person wrote: "Please don't be singing this in Germany this summer."
Another said: "Embarrassing. One in five pilots in the Battle of Britain were foreign btw."
A third commented: "It's embarrassing these days. Okay, have national pride but leave the WWIII references behind, where the belong. In the bin."
Others labelled the chanting as "cringe" and "awful."
In recent years, the FA has made it clear that it does not condone the chant, and has threatened disciplinary action against anyone found singing the song.
In 2017, a number of England supporters were banned from the England Supporters Travel Club after they sang the chant during a friendly against Germany in Dortmund.
And at the most recent European Championships in 2021, the FA warned fans not to sing the anti-German chant.
In a statement ahead of England's last 16 tie with Germany at Wembley, the FA said: "We always encourage our fans to positively get behind the team, and this includes supporting England in the right way, before, during and after the match. This message will be shared with them once again before Tuesday’s fixture, as well as thanking them for their support.
“We will also strongly condemn any behaviour at Wembley Stadium that is discriminatory or disrespectful, and we will take action where appropriate as we try to ensure all England matches are a safe and enjoyable experience.”
On the pitch, England have one more warm-up game before the fly to Germany for the tournament.
Gareth Southgate's men take on Iceland at Wembley on Friday evening, with the final 26-man squad for the tournament being announced the following day (June 8).
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