FIFA has opened an official investigation after reports of England fans’ alleged discriminatory chants during the semifinal with Croatia on July 11. The governing body of football received reports from its anti-discrimination monitoring system, which kept an eye on unruly behavior during the match in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium.
It is unclear whether the punishable chanting was England’s "No Surrender" song or a different song. "No Surrender" is an anti-IRA (Irish Republic Army) chant used by English fans for decades and it refers to the distaste many Englishmen have for the Irish paramilitary organization, which played a major role in a not-so-forgotten violent past in Ireland.
The lyrics are quite catchy though:
Keep St. George in my heart, keep me English
Keep St. George in my heart, I pray
Keep St. George in my heart, keep me English
Keep me English till my dying day
No surrender, no surrender, no surrender to the IRA x2
BBC’s sport correspondent Richard Conway, who partially broke the news on Twitter, said he believes the "No Surrender" song is definitely part of the investigation.
Understand investigation DOES relate to chanting of "no surrender" plus other potentially discriminatory songs.
— Richard Conway (@richard_conway) July 12, 2018
According to Express, FIFA had the following statement on the matter:
“We can confirm that a report has been filled through the anti-discrimination monitoring system in relation to chants of possible discriminatory nature by English fans at yesterday’s match.
"Subsequently, disciplinary proceedings have been opened against the Football Association.”
When a nation’s fans misbehave, FIFA essentially punishes the nation’s main football association, hence the “disciplinary proceedings” directed to England’s Football Association.
On Feb. 15 1995, during a supposedly friendly match between Ireland and England, all hell broke loose between the two. The incident, named the Lansdowne Road riot after Dublin’s Lansdowne Road stadium where the match was played, left around 20 people injured. The riot was later reported to be caused by Combat 18, a neo-Nazi organization that often targeted football matches and players in England.
Although the rioting is confirmed not to have been initiated by the English nor the Irish, rather a group of imbecilic neo-Nazis, the incident didn’t help in calming the animosity between England and Ireland in football
On this day in 1995: The Lansdowne Road riots.
A dark day for British & Irish sport. pic.twitter.com/Gf6OtYH7ji— Proper Football (@PSfooty) February 15, 2018
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