Tartan Army diehard's 9,000 mile trek to take in Euros SOBER

A Scotland fanatic has revealed he has a different perspective at Euro 2024, as he's staying sober for the tournament following his 9,000-mile trip to get there.

Daryll Falls lives in Perth, Australia, but the Tartan Army footsoldier travels to every Scotland away fixture he can make. And as soon as Steve Clarke's men booked their place in Germany he booked his.

In Germany he met up with pal Graeme Mutch, who made an 11,000-mile pilgrimage to the tournament from his home in New Zealand.

Before moving to the other side of the globe the football fans had some wild times watching the national team play abroad. And they laughed as they recalled partying so hard they never made it out of their Faroe Islands hotel.

Daryll, 48, explained: "When I'm not working I'm flying to Norway, France, Spain or Cyprus. The football is the only thing I miss about being in Australia.

"I've retired from drinking. It's different being sober because I'm normally a car crash [if drunk] and [me and Graeme] were a nightmare together.

"Some of the games we never even went to because we were that drunk. We've been right around the world watching Scotland, it's crazy.

"[Being sober] gives a different perspective, I still have fun, but you're more cautious in what you do. It's an eye opener being on the other side and seeing what [the ones drinking] get up to."

The Scottish Daily Express reports that Daryll has watching football around the world to thank for meeting his wife, a Brazillian he encountered in a Rio De Janeiro bar during the 2014 World Cup.

Despite being sober, his trip to Germany has been everything he hoped it would, the only downer being the performance of the Scottish team.

He said: "It's been really good apart from the football. I mean, I knew we weren't going to get a result against Germany. But the display, there was just no heart.

"It was disappointing. It's the usual story for the Scottish fans. The football sucks [but the craic] is unreal, that's next level."

Graeme is even more excited to be in Germany as it is the first time he's been at a major tournament. The 51-year-old explained: "I've never been to a major tournament because I missed [the] 1998 [World Cup] through illness.

"It's taken 24 hours for me to get here. But it's worth it, I've not seen some of these boys for 40 years - but it's just like being straight back into it. The jet lag takes you a few days to get over, but it's what you do for Scotland."

Both men are booked to travel home after the final group game versus Hungary on Sunday, but they hope a couple of victories see them prolonging their wild tour with the Tartan Army.

Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.