To be fair, a lot of your observations are signs of more general xenophobic and stereotyping mentalities in the British media which aren't limited to Ukraine or Italy. Our media is just as bad for most countries outside of a select few for that sort of thing. Gary Lineker does not have some kind of specific agenda against Italy, that's ridiculous and all our other media completely agreed that it was a clear red card.
As for "it's coming home!" you're completely misunderstanding the meaning of this. For us it's a chant of hope in the face of despair - we continue to sing it even as we go down, because we still love and believe in our team. It's not arrogance or presumption, far from it.
I honestly don't understand why the interlocutor, when he talks about something the listener doesn't like, must be accused of xenophobia, racism, patriarchy and so on. It is a form of discreditation that only makes up for a lack of arguments. There is a saying "The deaf who does not hear at first voice means that they do not like the speech". Are we sure that the feeling of xenophobia is not located somewhere else? Brexit with the "regaining of sovereignty and the protection of borders"? The whistles of the German anthem? Does all this tell you something? It is useless to kneel for the "Black Lives Matter" and then disrespect a people's anthem.
However, what has been written and not edited is clear. I'll show you schematically:
-) Lineker and Neville have always had negative comments on Italy. They are not the only ones! Vieira and Barthez also did the same (then France was beaten by the "weak", according to them, Switzerland).
-) The English national team, historically, speak the facts, has always considered itself superior.
-) Lineker said Orsato's refereeing was shameful. The red card, however, is sacrosanct.
-) Taylor in Italy - Austria had a questionable yardstick.
-) If the England national team has never reached a final and has an empty board (I don't count 1966), why should Denmark be more favored than at least a well-deserved final and a well-deserved European title?
-) If in England, according to what the mass media say, there is a violent wave of "Delta variant" why were there no precautions? Why, in these conditions, which could favor a new lockdown in the future, were the semi-finals of the tournament assigned by UEFA (after the Superlega sentence was condoned to some English teams)?
-) I wrote that I appreciate - "It's coming home" but we know well that the meaning has been transcended. This is an excerpt from an article with a lot of source: "When The Lightning Seeds sang that" football was coming home "they were referring to the international tournament that England was hosting at home, for the first time after three decades of waiting. rest, as Thomas Johnson claims in the Washington Post, England was the cradle of modern football: so it was also sport itself - as the song claims - that returned home. Gradually, then, the meaning of the song changed and began to accompany the fans' hopes of being able to do well in the World Cup. The only victory is dated 1966, the last semifinal was played in Turin in 1990. In this summer 2018, "It's coming home" has become the way to exorcise the fears and hope that the team can really "win home." - I can understand the hope but why, if we are talking about a hope, have I always heard pedantic comments about the national teams that have won something? Why does the England national team think they are on the same level as those with 5 or 4 stars? Humanly we are all the same, every team can win a European or world championship but what should characterize "who did not win" from "who won" is ... humility. In the past even France and Spain had not been very successful but they knew how to work hard and now they can afford to say something. As I wrote to ElinaUA, only the winner can speak and can afford to be a little arrogant. It is ridiculous, I will give you an example on the Italian championship, that Crotone can afford to feel more successful than Juventus ... Let's go back to the concept of arrogance that you say that the English have never had on other national football teams. I saw a trivial but not very significant example ... if I remember correctly, there was an English film with Jason Statham where a guy in the English national team teased a child on the plane with the Italian national 'Italy had lost a friendly against Romania ... is this a joke? Ok, in fact, I laughed without getting nervous but ... are we sure that what Lineker thinks is not also thought by the majority of ordinary English citizens? I know England much more than you think and I can tell you that London is one thing, the rest of England is another. It is outside London where you can feel the true thinking of the English community, the same that made Brexit triumph in the referendum.
Gabe ... I can be annoying, at times unpleasant but I say things as they are. I always and only talk about facts but anyway I don't think I'm right. If through a civil speech you make me change my mind I will be happy to say "I was wrong".
If England wins the European Championship I will be happy for you, if Italy wins it I will be even happier and if the final is Italy - England ... with all respect and lack of xenophobia, get ready to lose
apologized to Besedin yesterday.
