2024-06-20 11:27:44
There’ll in all probability be bother in our home tonight when the Danish and English nationwide soccer groups renew their Euro matches.
In response to this, I requested my daughter this morning if she needed to put on her crimson England shirt to kindergarten, the place many different kids could be decked out in Denmark gear.
Exhibiting extra maturity and diplomacy at age 4 than I appear to have, he refused.
She needed to decorate for the sport although, a choice certain to go down properly with the Danish royals in the event that they went down.
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Three years in the past, the 2 international locations performed one another within the semi-finals of the final version. It was in all probability the bottom level in Anglo-Danish relations since Lord Nelson determined to intention his cannons at Copenhagen in 1807.
England gained, helped by a controversial further time penalty and with out entering into the intricacies of the sport, the Danes weren’t glad.
Promoting
Newspapers that printed articles about Denmark’s injustice have suffered for weeks, particularly after bitter and indignant insults about English died on Danish social media.
England followers – in England, not in Denmark – did themselves no favors initially with embarrassingly misbehaving within the stadium and on social media as England later misplaced to Italy on penalties within the ultimate.
The best way Denmark thinks about England at that time was encapsulated by the broadcaster DR’s title after the ultimate: “Wembley went silent because the ball chooses a superb home”.
I didn’t attempt to poke on the outdated wound however to recommend it was an anomaly: in 17 years residing in Denmark as an Englishman, I’ve not seen something prefer it earlier than or since.
Actually, the one actual jibes I’ve ever suffered from Danish for being English have come from one explicit Dane: my spouse.
“Why are all English individuals so unhealthy at organizing their residing rooms?”, you will quickly discover whereas watching a home scene in something from against the law drama to a actuality present set within the UK.
“Can English individuals solely eat beige meals?”, he would comment once I did one thing as innocent as consuming a cheese sandwich (on white, not rye bread).
He has zero kind for ‘banter’ sport, nonetheless in the course of the recreation in 2021 when Denmark scored 1-0 within the first half, he took the picture under and despatched it to my dad and mom and siblings on WhatsApp.
The creator of the article in the course of the early phases of the Euro 2020 semi-finals. Picture: personal
The purpose is that if the one anti-English sentiment that I ever skilled was my spouse’s low-grade teasing, I settle for that as anecdotal proof there truly is not any anti-English sentiment in Denmark in any respect.
Even introduction of the phrase Anglophobia to the Danish dictionary Prior to now two years there has not been any sick feeling between the international locations.
Henrik Lorentzen, editor-in-chief of the Danish Society for Language and Literature, advised me on the time: “You should not settle for it.
“It’s not included as a result of there’s a explicit hatred in direction of English individuals, or in direction of American or Anglo-Saxon tradition,” he mentioned.
Even Danish footballers themselves do not maintain any grudges.
Promoting
“I believe England are a world-class group once we meet them (at Euro 2020), they attain the tip of an awesome event,” goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel mentioned yesterday.
Schmeichel additionally mentioned that he’s not searching for revenge.
“I am not the kind of particular person to look again three years for motivation. The most important distinction for myself is that we performed one other Euro with Denmark. The most important motivation is to have a good time the victory for our followers after who’ve traveled all that manner,” he mentioned.
If England win the sport and I ship my son to kindergarten in a membership equipment tomorrow (I am not truly going to do that), then the one related nationwide consideration I can get it is going to be the identical one as ordinary.
This goes alongside the strains of “Wow, that British accent sounds actually good, good for you for passing it on to your youngsters, that is an actual present”.
That was generally adopted by tales about journeys to London or holidays in Cornwall or the Highlands of Scotland and the way stunning it was, and the way well mannered the individuals had been there.
Issues are aggressive, not likely.
#Danes #English