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Spain win Euro 2012


Stifler
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Can't wait but wish I could get excited about England.

 

This. I'll watch the games and cheer us on and got everything crossed we'll win, but I'll hardly be disconsolate if and when we lose.

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Poland's big chance of showcasing itself the world is now ruined by all these racist acts going on. Think it media hype has put it to the forefront of peoples minds and makes these idiots much more likely to do it. Such a shame because I've been there many times, I'm part Polish, and I've never been aware of any problems of this kind at all. I am aware that these neo-nazi groups do exist in Poland, which I find quite baffling considering its history and what my grandfather fought against. Just hope people don't stereotype all Polish people as being racists.

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Guest BooBoo

I know it's a big issue but I'm bored of the racism stuff already. It's clearly going to overshadow the tournament.

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Euro 2012 was plunged into its first racism controversy after the black players in the Holland squad were subjected to monkey chants during an open practice session in the same city where England will also invite the public to watch them train on Friday.

 

Several hundred people targeted players such as Nigel de Jong and Gregory van der Wiel when 25,000 spectators attended the Dutch practice session at the Stadion Miejski, the home of Wisla Krakow.

 

The players, on the instructions of the captain, Mark van Bommel, responded by moving their training drills to the other side of the ground. "It is a real disgrace especially after getting back from Auschwitz [the Dutch squad had visited the concentration camp on Wednesday] that you are confronted with this," Van Bommel said. "We will take it up with Uefa and if it happens at a match we will talk to the referee and ask him to take us off the field."

 

The problems occurred as the players began the session by jogging a lap of the pitch only to be greeted at one end of the stadium with monkey noises and loud jeers. On the second circuit, they were even louder and it was then the players decided not to go around again. "At least now we know what we can encounter," the Holland coach, Bert van Marwijk, said with heavy cynicism. "Very atmospheric."

 

Uefa subsequently tried to deny that it was racially motivated, saying they had checked with the Dutch squad and had been told it was not thought to be of that nature. Instead, the official line is that a small part of the crowd was protesting about the fact that Krakow had not been made one of the host cities. Another theory that has been put forward is that Wisla's supporters did not want their stadium being used by anyone but their own club and were simply booing the Dutch players.

 

Van Bommel, however, responded angrily when it was put to him not everyone had heard monkey noises. "You need to open your ears," he said. "If you did hear it, and don't want to hear it, that is even worse."

 

Privately, the midfielder is understood to be unhappy that the authorities are not treating the issue more seriously, but the incident is still threatening to be a major embarrassment for Uefa, coming before a ball has even been kicked, and will increase the scrutiny on Poland's supporters when the tournament opens with the co-hosts playing Greece in Warsaw on Friday.

 

The Polish authorities have been eager to dispel the sense that the backdrop to this tournament will have racism at its centre, and the country's prime minister, Donald Tusk, went through an elaborate public relations exercise on Thursday to drive home the point. Tusk was accompanied by a television crew on a 90-mile journey to Lodz to dine with Poland's first black parliamentarian, John Godson, and his family, including relatives who had flown in from Nigeria. The idea was to show the improvements both in Poland's road network and acceptance of different races.

 

Godson criticised the BBC Panorama documentary Euro 2012: Stadiums of Hate that had warned racism would be rife. He argued that Poland was a "hospitable and tolerant country" while Tusk wore a badge that said "Welcome" and said he was convinced there would be no problems: "I very warmly invite all English people. You will definitely not encounter anything unpleasant here."

 

Panorama had focused on the racist elements in the support of Krakow's two major clubs, Wisla and Cracovia, as well as highlighting the seriousness of the problem in Ukraine. Michel Platini, the Uefa president, has subsequently said the referees have been empowered to take teams off the pitch if there are serious issues – but added that any player who walked off without permission would be booked.

 

The families of two of England's black players, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott, have already decided against travelling to the tournament because of the potential problems. England are based in Krakow, along with the Netherlands and Italy squads, and will allow the public to watch Friday's practice session at Hutnik stadium on the outskirts of the city.

 

 

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The whole thing should be called off.  I'd be gutted in football terms, but once again, the racists win by allowing it to continue.  Without wanting to invoke the "if this was England" argument, I have to invoke it. 

 

If it gets to be a problem, I'd agree it should be called off. No room for this. Pussy police in Poland and Ukraine just stand around and don't punish these scumbags.

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Favorite Euros goal?

 

I would say mine is either Suker against Denmark, Van Bastens or Gazza's

 

Gazza's , absolutely no question about it.

 

Went into the Garden and try to recreate it for 4 straight hours the next day. My little brother was Colin Hendry, the hapless divvy.

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Favorite Euros goal?

 

I would say mine is either Suker against Denmark, Van Bastens or Gazza's

 

I'm Scottish and it's my favourite goal.

 

The whole thing was class.  Gazza embarrassing his Rangers colleagues (Hendry and Goram), the flick over Hendry's head, the volley and the dentist's chair celebration to stick it up to the tabloids.

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proper knacked me foot on the coffee table in me mates living room when Seaman saved Nadal's pen.  Had been to the school fayre earlier on that day and drank copious amounts of blue fizzy pop, was high as a kite.

 

Other Euro memory includes being 12 and getting told off by me mam for shouting "f***ing useless!" at Phil Neville vs. Romania in 2000.

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The whole thing should be called off.  I'd be gutted in football terms, but once again, the racists win by allowing it to continue.  Without wanting to invoke the "if this was England" argument, I have to invoke it. 

 

That's an overreaction and a half.

 

All the incidents we've seen thus far have been of very isolated groups, of which you could find if you delved enough within every country in Europe. Let's see how the tournament pans out before we start talking about calling it off eh?

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Favorite Euros goal?

 

I would say mine is either Suker against Denmark, Van Bastens or Gazza's

 

Loved Trezeguet's in the 2000 final, just the way he sweeps the ball past the keeper and into the roof of the net.

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