England fan perspective: 20 years after Lansdowne riots shame, we’re here to make friends

Derby County and England fanatic Garford Beck, from England Fans FC, tells us about his decades of supporting the lads with three lions on their shirt.

I have been supporting England since the 1970s and try to get away for games as much as I can. This weekend will be my first time in Dublin and I am really looking forward to it, especially a pint of the black stuff! I have been on away trips where myself and fellow England supporters have been warmly accepted by the locals, seen some great sights, and caught some super matches. Unfortunately, I have also been in towns and cities, abroad, when some of our fans have let the country down. The football landscape has changed a lot in the past 20 years. There is less of a menacing feel to affairs now and many England supporters embrace the locals and their culture. I'd like to think we've all matured and moved on. I was not at the Ireland versus England game, at Lansdowne Road in 1995, but our supporters did no-one proud that night. An English fan, in one of the forums on the FA website, claimed that God Save the Queen was not played at the ground on the night. That is inaccurate. Anthems or not, the actions of many of the English fans that night were out of order. That is not to say that the vitriol and hatred has disappeared. I was at Celtic Park, last November, when a large section of English supporters sang anti-IRA songs during the friendly match with Scotland. The songs were led by the official England band. I know; I was there. I made an official complaint to the FA. I wish I had gone to the police. Many of the England supporters that now go to games were not even born when The Troubles were ongoing [before the ceasefire]. They have no idea what the IRA was or what it stood for. I am old enough to remember Bloody Sunday, the Hyde Park and Warrington bombings and all that. I remember growing up and that sense, and fear, of not knowing what might happen next. Regrettably, there is a nasty element that is starting to creep back into the English travelling support which, in my view, may coincide with the ending of a number of long-term banning orders. After the Italy game, for example, in March, in Turin, I saw an England supporter who had been badly beaten up. He was a Blackburn Rovers fan and had been set upon by four or five Burnley supporters. That inter-club fighting is creeping back and, in my opinion, inter-club rivalries should be left at home when following England overseas. I flagged up this incident with the FA and got very little that reassured me in response. Don't get me wrong, I love having a few pints on away trips but I am not interested in heading straight from airport to pub to ground and chanting songs at each other. That is not what our group is all about. Personally, I like to explore a city that I travel too. A lot of England fans would do likewise. As supporters privileged enough to travel abroad, we get the chance to visit countries like Moldova and Belarus, that you may not usually get to visit. We often find that the locals are so happy that you have come to their town and are even happier to show you about or offer advice and tourist tips. Playing for pride I arrived into training this morning with a few mates and, this afternoon, am involved, as team manager of EnglandFans FC, in a friendly match against a wonderful group of  Irish fans, You Boys In Green. This is what engaging with your rival fans is all about; two like-minded groups of football supporters getting together in a spirit of friendship, have a game of football and then enjoy each other's company, over a few beers, post-match. The game has been arranged by founder members of YBIG, David Byrne and Phelim Warren. It is being played at the all-weather pitches on Alfie Byrne Road, in Clontarf and kicks-off at 2.00pm. We played an Irish team in 2013 but it was mostly players from a team that represent Ireland's Embassy in London. They are a decent side and beat us 5-1. [caption id="attachment_27486" align="aligncenter" width="827"] England Fans FC (Credit: EFFC)[/caption] That match was, apart from the scoreline, notable as we staged it as our contribution to Football versus Homophobia. Our team was open to straight and gay footballers. In truth, nobody knew people's sexual orientations and no-one was bothered. We were more concerned with our own woeful performance that day. Hopefully we will do ourselves justice on Saturday. The plan, after the fans' game, is to repair to YBIG headquarters, Slattery's pub, near the Aviva for a few pints. We'll have a bite to eat and to watch the Champions League final together. Our group is not officially recognised by the English FA. Our group, EnglandFans FC, is not officially recognised by the English FA. They will only back an official supporters group but you cannot be fully part of that if you do not sign up for the travel club. Not all England fans can afford to fly out to watch their team when they play away. I have some mates that can't afford to travel as they have no jobs or are on zero hour contracts. Just because I can afford to get over for away games, does that make me any more loyal than the England fan who can only watch games from the sofa due to financial reasons?

As for the game itself, and interactions between the two sets of fans, I am not expecting any trouble. Why should there be? We're visiting one of the nicest and most beautiful cities in the world. The Irish people are some of the most warmest and humorous people on earth. The scene is set, as far as I'm concerned, for a wonderful football occasion!

Some of the English supporters may take great delight in booing the Irish national anthem and there may be some inane chants sung, with zero trace of humour, usually accompanied by the dreadful band. Many England fans travel to away games to make friends. If any England supporter decides to spend the afternoon engaging in behaviour likely to offend local sensitivities, whilst in Dublin's fair city, or sings songs designed to be deliberately provocative, and ends up with a fat lip for his troubles, you won't hear any complaints from me. *There are still slots open for the England team to play Ireland in the fans friendly, at 2pm today. Get in touch with England Fans FC for more information.