England's fans turn to tears and violence
(China Daily)
Updated: 2004-06-16 06:47

If the photo of Romeo Beckham bawling in the arms of his Spice Girl mother didn't quite say it all, the flaming overturned police cars got the point across.

England fans were not happy.

At 21 months, toddler Romeo may not quite have understood all the implications of daddy David's missed penalty kick on Sunday night, which was the turning point in a heartbreaking defeat.

France midfielder Zinedine Zidane went on to score twice in injury time to beat England 2-1 in the European Cup opener.

But the tears of the son of the England captain - captured on the cover of Monday's Daily Mail wearing a replica of his father's shirt in the stands in Lisbon - reflected the national mood perfectly.

In Croydon, south London, 400 fans threw an inconsolable fit of their own, clashing with police who arrested 14.

About 200 fans rampaged through Birmingham, damaging a bus, and some 70 fans threw bricks and bottles at police in Boston, Lincolnshire, overturning two police cars and setting them on fire.

The riots prompted Home Secretary David Blunkett to warn of swift retribution if it happened again during the tournament.

"We will come down on them like a ton of bricks if that kind of behaviour continues during the rest of Euro 2004," he told parliament.

At least in Lisbon itself, Portuguese police said the England fans were more or less well behaved. England has been cautioned by soccer's governing body that it will be dropped from the tournament if its visiting fans riot as they did four years ago at the European championship in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Britain's biggest-selling tabloid, The Sun, used just one word on its front page - "Gutted" - with a picture of the England skipper covering his eyes. The Daily Mirror, with the same shot, ran a banner headline of "Broken Lionhearts."

Most papers looked for positives, pointing out that - with Switzerland on Thursday and Croatia next Monday still to play in group games - England were not out yet.

The Sun said: "We frightened the life out of the French, and there are two easier games to come. So don't be down-hearted. Let the flags flutter just as proudly today."

The Daily Telegraph's soccer correspondent Henry Winter felt England had been robbed.

"How cruel, how unfair, how brutal. Just when England thought their gutsy defending and Frank Lampard's fine header had guaranteed a Jour de Gloire, Zinedine Zidane struck two astonishing late goals," he wrote.

But Matt Dickinson of The Times feared the shock of Zidane's goals, from a free-kick and then a penalty following an error by Steven Gerrard, could have derailed their campaign.

"So cruel and brutal were the blows inflicted on them by Zinedine Zidane in those amazing last few minutes that...last night's loss could send them into the depths of despair," he wrote.

Still, not all was sorrow on the island of Britain. North of the border in Scotland, where the national team did not make it to the European tournament, there was some glee.

"All hail KING ZINEDINE of Scotland!" wrote one Scottish supporter on the England fan's website englandfc.com.

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