5 of the most disrespectful crowd chants in football
When England played France on Tuesday one of the most memorable moments actually came before the game started, as the teams walked onto the pitch to the sound of Oasis’ Don’t Look Back In Anger, a tribute to the victims of the recent terrorist attacks in London and Manchester. The memorable part? The crowd singing along with every lyric and then observing the minute’s silence perfectly.
Unfortunately, football fans aren’t always that respectful. Not only have fans in the past been heard to sing some despicable songs referring to events outside the realm of football, but they have also been heard to poke fun at some of the game’s most terrible tragedies over the years. It’s impossible to put these in order, but here are five of the most disrespectful crowd chants in football history.
#1 England fans chanting about World War II
The football rivalry between England and Germany is one of the most memorable in the game but it’s also one of the most respectful, at least on the pitch. Both sides have seen massive wins come against the other and the pendulum always seems to swing back and forth between the two depending on the generation of players, but across all of the games, the players have always shown nothing but respect for one another.
The same can’t be said about the fans, particularly from an England point of view. Despite World War II coming to an end well over seventy years ago now – meaning practically none of the current fans can remember the horrors that occurred – England fans just can’t seem to forget about it, not can they seem to allow the German fans to forget either.
Whenever England play Germany, chants of “Two World Wars and one World Cup!” can be heard from the fans of the Three Lions, as can a shameful song about “one German bomber in the air....and the English RAF shot him down”. It’s not exactly a fine use of history inside football and the World War II references make both chants some of the most disrespectful in the game.