The bane of modern sport

NATIONALISM in its extreme guises has long since been the bane of sport. The tuppence worth of xenophobia by British tabloids and a racist French politician has merely underlined this, ensuring that the preamble to tonight's Wembley semi final will probably constitute the nadir of Euro 96 thus far.

Roundly booing the away team's anthem is not a uniquely British characteristic, so maybe the time has come to ban national anthems from sporting occasions altogether. Conducted with the due respect Scottish and Dutch fans afforded each other in their Group A match at Villa Park they add to the pre match pageant, but increasingly they are assuming more sinister meanings.

When they are an outlet for bigoted, jingoistic nationalism, and, as Liberal leader Paddy Ashdown observed, "harking back, in insecurity, to past glories", they detract from the occasion, as has been the case during the playing of both the Spanish and Dutch national anthems in the last two games at Wembley along with that dirge, God Save The Queen.

Expect more of the same and worse for Deutschland Uber Alles tonight.

A hundred miles up the M1 at Villa Park, the comments of the French fascist Jean Marie Le Pen will ensure that there is more than a passing interest in whether the French team are singing the words of

La Marseillaise. Ironically, Le Pen's intrusion has only degraded the one genuinely stirring anthem of the lot.

Which is funny really, bearing in mind the stance taken by the latest prodigy in French rugby, Thomas Castegneide last season. As Caucasian and pure bloodedly French as Le Pen demands, the French match winner against England admitted that he has to stifle a giggle during La Marsqlaise because for him sport is an outlet for fun, not patriotism.

Fair play to him indeed. That's what sport should be about. Yet more and more we demand our sporting heroes to display their nationalism on their hearts, on their sleeves, indeed on their lips.

Are we any better? Remember the outrage over Sonia O'Sullivan's refusal to drape herself in the Tricolour after her World Championship win two summers ago? Bravely, O'Sullivan bucked the increasingly irritating trend in athletics which is liable to reach this summer's nadir in Atlanta.

Isn't it enough that sports people wear the colours of the country they represent? So what if they don't drape themselves in flags, or whether they know the words of their national anthem.

To be fair, most of the English public and press seem to be utterly appalled by this week's antics of some of the tabloids, the once great bastion of working class socialism, the Daily Mirror, being the most puerile offender.

In reviving the second World War they have merely appealed to England's most basic, bunker mentality. If it wasn't there, they wouldn't appeal to it. The Mirror did tone down its coverage yesterday, with an apology of sorts to the Germans on the front page.

Elsewhere though, the `tone' remained the same. The Daily Star (er, English version) had four more references to "Krauts" while the Sun (ahem, English version) reported the "England lion heart Stuart Pearce would be proud to die for his country, his devoted wile said last night" quoting her as saying. "He would make a good soldier, a great person to have fighting for us. If ever he went to war, and every soldier had the same passion for his country as Stuart, we could never lose." Dear God.

Decent English people, who don't have to be inspired by this nonsense to cheer for their team, and seen in their many thousands mingling with foreign fans at all venues, have lodged 60 complaints to the Press Commission. There was also a front page back lash from the broad sheets (notably the Independent and the Guardian). This week may even mark a turning point.

Indeed, any English colleague this reporter has spoken to has been disgusted by all of this. A great deal of goodwill toward the English has been undone these past few days and when it was put to one that this neutral might be hoping for a German win, he said he might be as well.

Throughout it all, the Germans' have retained their dignity, epitomised by the eloquent, calm response of a slightly stunned Juergen Klinsmann on television yesterday.

Ditto their supporters. Some of the few thousand Englishmen whoa bothered to attend last Sunday's quarter final at Old Trafford responded to the Croatian equaliser with the taunt of "You're Not Singing Anymore". The Germans in the Stretford End "mooed" instead of "booed" and used Matthias Sammer's prompt winner with chants of "You've all got mad cows disease".

Nationalism as demonstrated in football is, perhaps, another form of tribalism which has taken root in the beautiful game at club level. Listening to a couple of Munster accents before the Old Trafford quarter final, and noticing the vast number of empty seats (12,012 was the official figure) the thought occurred that all of those seats and more would have been readily filled by Irish fans of football were Southampton or Wimbledon the visitors.

Or should that be Irish fans of Manchester United, as opposed to football? Allowing for the prohibitive £60 price for tickets it still made you wonder about football supporters' priorities these days. Manchester United v Wimbledon, superseding a European Championship quarter final between Croatia and Germany or, indeed, a group game between Germany and Italy?

Loyalty to a club comes before the game itself. This increasing tribalism and nationalism appear inextricably linked. Now it is the fans who must display their tribalism as well, with the preponderance of replica shirts and other commercial rip offs.

Conclusion? Is it my imagination or is sheer appreciation of good football coming an ever poorer second to the overt demonstration of nationalism or tribalism, whether it be the actual participants or the supporters?