IT’S COME HOME!
England’s Three Lions anthem saved for the nation after flaky FA bosses’ U-turn
FLAKY FA bosses yesterday ditched plans to axe England’s Three Lions anthem — after The Sun exposed their plot.
They bizarrely claimed the “arrogant” lyrics might offend nations at the World Cup in Qatar, which outraged fans.
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1966 hero Sir Geoff Hurst said: “Thank goodness they’ve seen sense.”
Furious England fans yesterday halted the FA’s ridiculous bid to axe Three Lions as our World Cup anthem in Qatar.
They were joined by legends of the game and showbiz stars in forcing footie chiefs into a weaselly u-turn.
After The Sun revealed the plot yesterday, the FA was mauled on TV and radio for six hours before announcing it was backtracking. And woke bosses shamelessly tried to suggest they hadn’t discussed ditching the song.
We had told how they feared using the classic 1996 tune in stadiums before World Cup kick-offs — because other nations viewed it “arrogant” to sing about England being the home of football.
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The FA had even considered replacing it with American singer Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline.
England 1966 World Cup winner Sir Geoff Hurst, 80, led our swift counterattack and said: “I appeared in the original Three Lions video and have loved the tune ever since.
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“It’s a song about football for English football fans. I can’t believe anyone would want to replace it with Sweet Caroline, which is American and has nothing to do with the game.
“Three Lions is light-hearted and full of fans’ hopes and dreams and I can’t see how anyone could find it offensive. And if we win the World Cup again then football really will have come because we are the country that invented the game.
“Why get so serious? It’s just fun and I’m pleased we’ll be singing It’s Coming Home loud and proud in Qatar.”
Striker Sir Geoff, whose hat-trick clinched England’s 4-2 win over Germany, also spoke of his joy at singing and dancing to the tune at a Lightning Seeds gig in London before last year’s Euros final.
'Woke nonsense'
Sir Geoff said: “I was asked to introduce the song but ended up getting pulled on stage with the band and singing my heart out with (creators) David Baddiel and Frank Skinner. It’s that kind of song. It gets fans going and will always be my No1.”
All 32 nations competing at Qatar are required to nominate an official song, with choices submitted this summer.
Woke alarm bells sounded last year when Uefa stopped Baddiel and Skinner from singing the hit before the Euro 2020 final branding it too “partisan”.
Yet Croatia’s players used the song for motivation ahead of their 2-1 triumph over Gareth Southgate’s England team at the 2018 World Cup semi-final in Moscow.
And Italian fans sang “It’s coming to Rome” after their penalties win over the Three Lions in the Euro 2020 final.
Yesterday there was a national outcry following our front page. BBC Radio Two star Jeremy Vine was flooded with calls from fans after asking phone-in listeners: “Is it wrong to ditch the Three Lions song?”
He added: “The FA is apparently thinking about dropping the iconic song over fears it is ‘arrogant’. Is that a good idea or just woke nonsense?”
The FA is apparently thinking about dropping the iconic song over fears it is ‘arrogant’. Is that a good idea or just woke nonsense?
BBC Radio Two star Jeremy Vine
Former England World Cup star Peter Reid blasted moves to replace the song on Nick Ferrari's LBC show.
Peter, 65, said: “England fans are great, they sing and get behind the team. I don't see that offending anybody or making us seem arrogant.
“I had a look at the lyrics and they’re brilliant. Nothing in there, I don’t think, makes us arrogant or offends anybody.”
TV star Vernon Kay said the song was part of our football history, adding: “It unites England fans.”
Nadine Dorries, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, led political support. She said: "For more than 25 years, Three Lions has endured as the anthem of English football.
Perfect pitch for football classic
Alex James
WRITING a football anthem that catches on is much harder than you might think. Which is what makes Three Lions such a precious jewel that we must protect.
Its simplicity is key to its success. Simple words. Simple tune. But don’t let that fool you — getting it right is anything but simple.
Doesn’t matter how famous you are, like The Spice Girls, who were about the biggest band on the planet when they released (How Does It Feel to Be) On Top of the World — the ill-fated official tune for the 1998 World Cup.
Or Mick Hucknall, who was a kind of old-fashioned Ed Sheeran when he wrote We’re In This Together for Euro 96. The Lightning Seeds were a pretty cool indie band in 1996 and Baddiel and Skinner had a funny TV show.
Together they managed to write a simple song with, crucially, two parts that everyone could sing — “It’s coming home . . . ” along with the rousing “Three lions on a shirt . . . ’ bit that connected and resonated with the crowds on the terraces.
Where else do thousands of people, sometimes tens of thousands, all sing together, totally united and completely unaccompanied, other than at the football?
And the best way to get that massed triumphant choir going is to come up with something that harks back to the tradition of terrace chants, which all have a faint glimmer of the proud tradition of folk music. Written by ordinary people, for ordinary people.
Vindaloo, which I wrote with the comedian Keith Allen, had a one-word chorus, “Vindaloo”, and a one-note refrain, (“We’re gonna score one more than you”).
I played a demo version to a music exec and he shook his head and said, “Sorry mate, you’ll never get that on the radio. It won’t work.” I swear, I’ve still not once heard it on the radio but people are still singing it six World Cups later.
Ultimately the people decide what they want to sing. I’ve always loved Sweet Caroline. It’s a great singalong. But it has absolutely nothing to do with football or England and hearing it played at England matches makes me feel completely nauseous.
Please don’t suggest that Three Lions is “offensive to other nations” and wokewash us with this irrelevant nonsense.
Be warned, those who would wield the word “official”. You’ve literally never got it right. It’s coming home, you morons
"It perfectly captures what it means to be an England fan; the hope, the heartbreak but above all the belief in the team. I fully expect England fans to be singing it at games throughout the World Cup.”
Tory Julian Knight, chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said plans to scrap the tune were “nuts”. He added: When the Germans won Euro 96 they adopted Three Lions and sang it on their victory parade. You really do wonder about the mentality of the FA if they can’t just let sleeping lions lie over this issue.”
'You can’t take that song off us'
Tory MP Lee Anderson, a Nottingham Forest fan, said: “This is unbelievable arrogance from the suits at the FA. It only shows how far the people at the top are from the ordinary football fan.
“The wokery nonsense seemingly about the entire country has now affected the FA.”
Senior sources at the FA had given The Sun detailed accounts of how bosses wanted to get rid of the song. Yesterday England legend Paul Gascoigne told us: “You can’t take that song off us. This woke nonsense has no place in football.”
TalkTV presenter Piers Morgan added: “This song is all about wallowing in 30 years of pain and hurt and not winning anything. How can anyone say it's arrogant?”
In their feeble bid to downplay us rumbling their plot, the FA said yesterday: “Contrary to reports this morning, the FA still plays Three Lions at major Wembley matches and has never had any intention of doing otherwise.
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“The song belongs to the fans and is about the hope of following the England team.
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“It was requested by the FA to be played as one of our team songs at the 2018 World Cup and at the Euros last summer, and this is our plan at tournaments going forwards.”
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IT’S TOP CHAT
Andy Robinson
OUR story on Three Lions facing the axe dominated discussion on the airwaves yesterday.
Callers bombarded radio shows, social media went into a frenzy and TV talk shows debated it.
TalkTV’s Julia Hartley-Brewer spoke about the Football’s Coming Home controversy on her breakfast show and made it her “question of the day”. Sky Sports News covered the topic all day and Jeremy Vine mentioned it on Channel 5.
TalkSport also argued against flaky FA fears while former England midfielder Peter Reid called Nick Ferrari on LBC to fight the anthem’s corner.
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