Sunday 11th July 2021
Eriksen, rainbow, Arnautovic
The exciters that shaped this EM
Needed by David
The DFB-Elf is fighting but completely overwhelmed in the round of 16 from the European Football Championship. Joachim Löw’s coaching era is over. The appearances of the national team (excluding the 4: 2 against Portugal) are definitely not exciting. But apart from the German team, this EM offers a lot of sensational things – and once Löw’s eleven is the focus of excitement.
Eriksen collapses, Denmark has to play
On the second day of the European Championship, the world was already holding its breath: Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch in the game against Finland, probably suffering a cardiac arrest. A drama, the mild outcome of which has not been determined for a long time. Denmark’s captain Simon Kjaer immediately puts the midfield star from Inter Milan in a stable position on the side – and possibly saves his life. His team forms a wall around Eriksen while the TV cameras are fully on it as the player is treated.
Afterwards, UEFA gave a really bad image of itself at the European Championship for the first, but not the last time. She doesn’t want the game to be abandoned under any circumstances and is putting the Danish team under pressure to make a decision. Striker Martin Braithwaite then complained that continuing the game immediately was “the least bad option”. But: “There were a lot of players who weren’t ready to play.” Goalkeeper Kaspar Schmeichel also criticized after the game: “We players were put in a position that I don’t think is fair.”
Eriksen is then treated in the hospital and his condition continues to improve. Denmark, meanwhile, is writing a little fairy tale similar to the European Championship in 1992 (final victory against Germany) and still manages to make it into the knockout round, marching through to the quarter-finals – only to fail dramatically and unhappily against England.
Doubtful England penalty
Which brings us to the next point. England. Acted as one of the tournament favorites (at least on the island), the Three Lions cramp their way through the preliminary round. But then comes the deserved liberation blow against Germany by the young troops. The many English jewels are finally showing their skills.
A place in the final is deserved – if it weren’t for that penalty whistle in the 104th minute of the semi-final against Denmark. Referee Danny Makkelie initially ignores a second ball on the field near the game and points to the point after a minimal touch of Joakim Maehle on Raheem Sterling’s thigh. Many observers, experts and media workers (this time also on the island) consider the whistle to be far too hard. Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand said after the game: “It was a penalty that shouldn’t have been given,” he said in the “international press”. Well, Harry Kane shoots the excitement penalty, but the margin is in place. And England is in the first grand final since 1966.
Austria has never been there. Marco Arnautovic has made it to the greatest of football in the whole of his work. At the EM, he once again provided evidence in the first ÖFB game. In the game against North Macedonia, the 32-year-old breaks off his short cheer after scoring in the 89th minute to make it 3-1, turns to the players from North Macedonia and harasses them in an aggressive manner. Only the rushing captain David Alaba can boil him down again in a clear way, even tries to cover his mouth.
Media reports that he should have called: “I fuck your Shiptar mother”. In Serbian, “Shiptar” is used as a derogatory racist slur for Albanians. Arnautovic’s alleged insults were targeted specifically at Ezgjan Alioski, who plays for Leeds United and is of Albanian origin. The Austrian is then suspended for a game, his team fails in the round of 16 against Italy.
Rainbows, hearts and right ultras
The queer-hostile, racist and nationalist “Carpathian Brigade” is also causing unsightly rabble. The Hungarian ultra grouping is said to have made monkey noises in the France game against Kylian Mbappé, the UEFA is investigating. In the game against Germany, the supporters are crowded and disregarding any Corona rules in the curve. With his golden goal to 2: 2 shortly before the end, Leon Goretzka not only extended the Jogi Löw era by one game. He cheers in front of the “brigade” by forming a heart with his hands. The heart brigade against the brigade of discrimination. The message of love versus hatred and anger.
Otherwise, this game is all about rainbows. The symbol for diversity and a tolerant, cosmopolitan and diverse society. And against queer hostility. UEFA forbids the city of Munich from illuminating the Allianz Arena in rainbow colors. Instead, a number of other places, stadiums and institutions switch on the rainbow lights and hoist appropriate flags. Many flags are also distributed in front of and in the stadium in Munich. During the national anthem of Hungary, a speedster with a rainbow flag makes it onto the field and presents it directly in front of the Hungarian national team.
Oh man, UEFA …
UEFA rejects all guilt. But full stadiums, crowded and shouting fans and teams and spectators flying through Europe are poison for the fight against Corona. According to scientific surveys, around 2000 new infections in Scotland can be traced back to the “Battle of Britain” between England and the Scottish national team at Wembley in London.
The pandemic makes the venues spread across Europe seem absurd even before the tournament. UEFA pressure on venues to allow at least 14,500 fans is the first of many health-threatening regulations. The games in the variant area of London in front of 45,000 (round of 16 against Germany) and 60,000 fans (from the semifinals onwards), respectively, cause excitement. “Hundreds of people have certainly been infected and they are now infecting thousands in turn”, criticized SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach after the round of 16. “UEFA is responsible for the deaths of many people.”
The slapstick madness takes its course in the first group game. Turkey’s Merih Demiral puts Italy in the front because he hits his own net. Ten more own goals will follow in the course of the tournament. In all previous European championships together, only nine had fallen so far. For comparison: on all 34th match days of the 2020/21 Bundesliga season, all 18 Bundesliga clubs scored a total of 27 goals.
The German fans will particularly remember the faux pas of Mats Hummels against France: His unsuccessful attempt at clarification past Manuel Neuer over the goal line worried the 1-0 result. Slovakia and Portugal even manage to hit their own net twice in one game. Even the last goal from the game before the final falls because Simon Kjaer grabs the ball in his own goal against England. Harry Kane then scores in the margin of the above-mentioned penalty to make it 2-1 for the Three Lions.
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