Vile chants in Germany show there’s still work to do to eradicate England's football yobs

On a night when the world was coming together in a show of sympathy and solidarity after the horrific events in Westminster, England fans here in Dortmund carried a different message.

“Have you ever seen a German win the war?”, they sang in the hostelries throughout the day, on their slow march to the stadium and during a match which largely seemed to pass them by.

Shortly before the game, Gareth Southgate said the attack in London had put football into perspective, adding: “It’s important we represent ourselves with dignity.”

Yet, a significant number of England’s 3,200 travelling fans ignored that, extending their arms and singing about German bombers being blown out of the sky by the RAF. Those gestures took place during the national anthem of Germany, accompanied by loud boos moments after the locals has impeccably observed — and then applauded — ‘God Save the Queen’.

​Southgate claimed before the game that shedding an island mentality was essential to England progressing as a team. That island mentality is sadly alive and thriving in the stands.

It is both staggering and unfathomable that, in 2017, a group of adults believe buying a ticket to a football match gives them carte blanche to abuse the country they visit.

England’s history with Germany is more complex than just about any other nation but this is 2017. While the people of London were spreading the defiant message that terrorism will never triumph, a huge number of England supporters dredged up a conflict that ended 72 years ago.

They sang about the IRA, too. There was nothing new in any of this, of course — their repulsive repertoire has been the unwelcome backdrop to many matches — but it is usually mixed in with a rendition of the ‘Great Escape’ or songs supporting their team rather than disparaging the opposition.

Not a single song was heard about an England player on the pitch, not even the refrain about Jamie Vardy, a Euro 2016 favourite. The home fans took the baiting with a mixture of ignorance and indifference. A few supporters located near the press box shook their heads and chose to focus on the perfect sign-off to his international career Lukas Podolski was about to give them.

Among the abuse I received for posting a picture of England fans making German bomber signals, one person on Twitter wrote: “Bet you’re great fun at parties”.

Clearly the way we should all be acting at parties is to turn up, insult the hosts about their past and drink their booze. Take note, everyone.

The dedication of England supporters is remarkable, especially given modest results in recent years. They Anglicise even the remotest outposts England visit on laborious and bloated qualification campaigns, while taking up full allocations for friendlies with little riding on them beyond the slow-burn attempts of whichever manager is at the helm to instil a lasting and successful philosophy.

The badinage between England fans and their rivals is sometimes enjoyable but while the Football Association have worked hard to improve the reputation of supporters widely labelled as hooligans in the Eighties, last night was a reminder of the work there is still to do.

The FA were this morning aware of the conduct of many supporters and while the organisation took a dim view of the chanting, their greater priority was on ensuring the victims of yesterday’s terror attacks and the heroism of our emergency services will be recognised in the right way before Sunday’s World Cup qualifier against Lithuania at Wembley on Sunday.

Understandably, their attitude was modified by terrible events at home which evoked a desire among all of us for unity and togetherness to prevail. Well, most of us.