by Libertine »
16 Jun 2016 13:41
As a neutral in all of this (i.e. not being English) I have not found the behavior of the English fans that out of line. As a result of their reputation they have found themselves as targets for other groups of fans trying to make a name for themselves (cough*cough*cough* the Russians). Sure they have been loud and haven't been the classiest with some of their songs and chants. But from what I have seen reported even though they have behaved provocatively they have not been the ones who have actually started the major incidents. And for the French police to roll out a water cannon, even though they didn't use it, last night because the English fans had congregated in numbers and were having too much of a good time was an overreaction.
No property damage, no wide spread violence against other fans, no reason to claim this bunch of English fans are as bad as some in the past. We are talking about a few dozen out of how many? 20,000, 30,000 people? To me that percentage is what is considered the textbook definition of "statistically inconsequential".