In fairness I hate the British Army and I still buy a poppy every year.............................only so I can crush it in front of the old bint who sells them outside Tesco. Muahahaha
Poppies and remembrance at football matches
- Thread starter RW2
- Start date
Hundreds of ***insert your own profession*** died in wars.
Yes, it's a bullshit statistic, you've got Boruc playing for B'mouth and I cannot recall Britain in any form attacking us.
Here's a list is you are even vaguely interested. This is just the First World War.
https://www.footballandthefirstworldwar.org/footballers-killed-first-world-war/
Not saying they are, but don't anyone say football has no connection to war. War affects everyone.
It also affects the like of James McClean & Matic when UK forces were murdering and bombing their people.
Hence they're not wearing a poppy.
Looking at the video above . . . and I doubt Matic will be getting that next weekend.
So to what extent is the not wearing of the poppy by McClean more about anti-Irish Catholic bigotry?
So to what extent is the not wearing of the poppy by McClean more about anti-Irish Catholic bigotry?
I wasn't commenting on the rights or wrongs of his opinion, just the way he handled it.
I think that certainly plays a part.
It’s not a case of him needing to give an explanation it was just pure curiosity on my part. I know it’s the type of question he would be asked by a media outlet so just wondered if he had provided an answer, which I have seen on instragram he has now done.
I am not saying that. I literally do not care if someone wears a poppy or not. In fact I think the whole use of the poppy has gone way over the top and is almost being used as a form of fashion rather than remembering soldiers who have died.
I just asked if he had given a reason to the media, which I have seen he has today. End of.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history...-of-ten-countries-so-look-out-Luxembourg.html
This seems to be what he's basing it on. I can't think of anything that might even remotely count as Britain invading Poland though.
Do you imagine that Matic had much sway within the Serbian government when he was 12?I don't find it classy, I find it hypocritical, but I'm from Bosnia so I'm very biased about it. His country wasn't bombed (if you can even call that thing bombing) for no reason, it's because of Serbia's 90's warmongering politics. He's playing in England for years and now he's making thing out of it, c'mon.
He also didn't make a thing out of it, he chose not to wear it and was questioned.
Exactly. English football has a history with the wars, and it's part of the English game now.
If people don't like that, fine. But a small minority finding it tedious/not wanting to wear a poppy should not mean that the entire thing has to stop. Nobody should be forced to take part, or be ripped to shreds if they don't want to wear one though.
I've seen nonsense statistics like this before 'only like 5 countries haven't been invaded in the U.K in history!!!'
These kind of lists include British troops literally crossing through countries, I believe some lists even include Latvia despite British troops literally going there to liberate it. And yeah, places like Serbia and Poland where British troops were sent to assist. Lists like this always portray the U.K as a bloodthirsty invader on par with Nazi Germany, when really we were just the key European power for a while so naturally found ourselves embroiled in a lot of conflict.
Britain has invaded a lot of countries, just like every European power has, the continent has a long history of warfare which spread across the globe due to colonialism. That said, are we at a point where if your country has ever been at war with another one, you no longer have any respect for them and their war dead?
I'm not sat here hating France for Napoleon, Germany for Hitler or the Danish for the Viking invasions. The past is the past.
I think the poster is heavily biased because he is from a rival country to Serbia. His other posts are almost border-lining "The Serbs deserved it" argument.
No one should be forced to do so by wearing a poppy, and you are also not forced to wear anything to show respect to German soilders who died in the war so its doesnt mean much to say you are not sitting there hating.
At the end of the day people should be free to show respect or not to. Its up to them.
No I don't think so. The religious divide has long since passed into history and the white British populace is almost wholly a secular one.
He's regarded as someone who disrespects something that a section of white Britain holds dear and that has nothing to do with him being a catholic. Those hurling abuse probably only see the inside of a church at weddings and funerals, if at all. and wouldn't know the difference between a protestant and a catholic.
He needs to quit quoting Bobby Sands though.
He really doesn’t.
I think it might be because to many McClean isn’t seen as foreign enough. With Matic people probably don’t question it as much. Eastern Europe seems a world away and Serbian is his main tongue, whereas Ireland is on the doorstep.
He does if he wants to deflect accusations of being pro Ira which got a few Irish lads in a sweat here earlier.
This is not true though. Some people are indifferent, do not intend to show respect overtly, but are hardly disrespecting anything.
It was a different thing if the said footballers were acting like d**ks when the moment of silence was being observed before match.
I can’t work out whether this is a joke or serious.
Yeah the same thing happened in 1997 with Cool Britannia and Tony Blair, leader of the....oh.
For like the millionth time, I have absolutely no problem with somebody not wearing a poppy. It doesn't bother me and is absolutely a free choice, forcing people or making them feel guilty is ridiculous .. I myself have not even bought one yet, it's not something I go out of my way to do.
I was just addressing the point about Britain supposedly having invaded the entire world. If everybody held grudges against countries who at one point invaded their own, we would be nowhere as a world.
Also, if I was in Germany and asked to take part in a minutes silence in respect of German war dead, I would absolutely observe it. Vast majority who served were decent men either forced in to duty, or just guys who felt it was their civic duty to sign up. I don't blame them at all for the slaughter.
But yes, people are absolutely free to wear a poppy, no questions there.
That's bollocks. Britain haven't invaded or been in battle with most of those countries. By proxy, maybe. The Soviet invasion of Poland, although the Soviets weren't part of the allies at that time. There were also medieval battles in Poland that the "English" may or may not have taken part in. The Frisians help in the Battle of Grunwald, but that's far more likely to be Dutch Frisians, rather than the Frisians who migrated to Britain.
I don't bear grudges but as an Englishman I reserve the right to not shake the hand of anyone called Norman.
I agree in general. Although it should be pointed out that some peoples lives are still affected by those things (for instance if they had to flee a wore torn country or lost friends or family, or come from countries where the affects are still apparent)
All in all any invasion or war will leave a bad taste in someone peoples mouths.
Ya I figured. The Telegraph article is a weird one.
Sure, that's more understandable and I totally understand why somebody like Matic (who personally experienced warfare) would not want to wear a poppy.
I don't think he hates England or the English though, and overall I'd say holding a grudge against entire countries based on political & military acts is not a good idea. All it does is lead to further tensions down the road, in a perfect world when the war is over people from both sides should be able to respect each others dead and try and move past the aggression so nothing similar ever happens again.
Sadly, it seems people want to hang on to the anger, and are totally set on how they view a nation. Articles like the one above don't help, where Britain is basically portrayed as a total warmongerer stomping all over the world, there's plenty of examples of genuine aggressions by the U.K without needing to get creative.
McClean, an outspoken Republican, not only plays in front of a group of fans whose international song repertoire still includes "No Surrender" but has almost entirely played in what we might call Brexit towns throughout his career. It really doesn't surprise me that they hold him to a different standard than someone like Matic.
Well Britain did over large parts of it. As did the Belgians, the Danish, the Dutch, the French, the Spanish, the Germans, the Italians, the Portugese, the Russians etc
Naval power was the bedrock for Britain establishing the largest empire and prevented it from being subsumed by another's.
Yeah i doubt religion really comes into it but there will definitely be an anti Irish element to it. With a section of the Stoke fans anyway.
To be fair quoting someone doesn't necessarily mean you are ''pro IRA'' or support and condone the actions of others that belong to a group that person was once a part of. If that were the case then everyone who's quoted Nelson Mandela over the last 20-30 years supported the actions of the ANC in the past, which obviously isn't the case.
Agree to an extent but Matic has only just made this announcement. Wait until he's next at Stoke etc.
I'm very aware of Britain's colonial past, but I'd argue it was a little bit more complex than just marching around like a mongol horde.
Anyway, that's not really a discussion for this thread .. the point being that yeah, like the other European powers Britain did it's fair share of colonising, but that article singles us out as if we were particularly aggressive. It justifies this by including countries we never actually invaded.
Yes it's actually just factually incorrect.
Interesting points as ever, lads. Does anybody know, I wonder, where James McClean stands on the Great British Bake-Off?
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He'll probably be forced to release a statement thought his club or social media to explain his stance on it.