Gareth Southgate admits recent fan behaviour is a concern but is wary any message he sends to England supporters ahead of their Nations League fixture in Germany will fall on deaf ears.
The Three Lions face Hungary in their Group A3 opener on June 4, a game which takes place behind closed doors after a number of racist incidents marred England’s last trip to Budapest.
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Southgate then takes his players to Munich just three days later, with reports of a large travelling band of away supporters also making the trip.
The games come on the back of a domestic season which ended with a spate of high-profile pitch invasions across the country.
Sheffield United striker Billy Sharp was struck by a Nottingham Forest fan, while Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira was in an altercation with an Everton supporter, and Aston Villa goalkeeper Robin Olsen was mobbed as Manchester City followers flocked onto the pitch to celebrate their Premier League title win.
Southgate feels the incidents are systemic of growing issues within society but has called on football to address the problem before it dictates changes to the match-going experience.
“It is a concern,” he said after naming his squad for the quartet of Nations League games.
“There’s clearly a responsibility within football because when it is in our environment, we have got to do all we can to try and make sure it doesn’t happen.
“I think we all recognise that. But it’s a wider problem. It is behaviour and a reflection on where we are as a country at the moment. It is a difficult time for people, we are going to have more difficult times because of the economy and the realities of the situation we are in.
“But we have to look at what we’re doing in terms of parenting, everything really. What are the expectations? How do we want to be viewed as country because that’s manifesting itself in football at the moment and that’s not a…
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