David Lammy: Fans booing England taking the knee 'a disgrace'

12 June 2021, 18:53

David Lammy's scathing criticism of fans booing England team

By Seán Hickey

This is the moment David Lammy insists it is 'absolutely unpatriotic to boo the national team' at the Euros.

"Scenes of English fans booing our boys as they took the knee were a disgrace" David Lammy insisted. He added that "Boris Johnson has been so shockingly poor to condemn that behaviour."

He insisted that the actions of these fans was "totally unacceptable."

Speaking further on patriotism, David observed how patriotism rises during events such as the Euros. "I hope it won't just be the next few weeks" he said.

"When are we going to reclaim the English flag as something that belongs to all of us?"

Read More: 'People shouldn't be bullied' into taking the knee, Tory Minister insists

Football has a duty to raise awareness, says former PL player

Read More: Christian Eriksen: Denmark midfielder 'stabilised' after collapsing during Euro 2020 game

He advocated for the public to embrace English patriotism: "I want our identity to be a civic nationalistic or patriotic identity, not an ethnic identity" adding that allowing people like the EDL to claim "Englishness" must stop.

"Our royal family's origins are German," he reminded listeners, suggesting that English identity is far more fluid than the far-right make out to be.

Going back to his main point, David concluded that "it is absolutely unpatriotic to boo the national team."