There’s this little thing called sportsmanship which means treating your opponents with grace and respect.
But one idiot fan - which UEFA has confirmed to be an England supporter - proved they haven’t heard of it at the most pivotal moment in last night’s semi-final clash.
Denmark’s star goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel was preparing for Harry Kane’s extra-time penalty when suddenly a laser was pointed at his eye from somewhere in the crowd.
It’s unclear if he noticed and, ever-dignified and poised, Schmeichel carried on regardless and managed to block the shot – before Kane hit the rebound into the net, securing his team’s place in the Euro 2020 final.
UEFA later announced that it had opened disciplinary proceedings following Wednesday’s match - not just for the laser offence, but also supporters booing during Denmark’s national anthem.
It listed the charges against England as: “Disturbance caused by supporters during the national anthem, the lighting of fireworks by supporters, and the use of a laser pointer by supporters.”
The case will be dealt with by the association’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) in due course, it confirmed.
In a separate statement the FA – which runs Wembley Stadium, where the match took place – made clear that it had been unable to indentify the source of the bright green beam, but stressed: “Anyone found with a laser device inside the stadium will be removed from the ground.”
ITV showed footage of the incident after the game, with presenter Mark Pougatch saying: “Whoever they are they’re an idiot... it’s stupid and he doesn’t deserve that. That sort of thing, nobody wants to see.”
The poor goalie had more than the ball to deal with #fairPlay #KasperSchmeichel #EURO2020 #euro2021 #Football #fans #cheating #DEN #Eng pic.twitter.com/V22adpDSpG
— Níal Ó Fionnagáin (@NialFinegan) July 8, 2021
The unknown fan’s actions have been met with fury and opprobrium on social media, with Twitter users demanding that, if their identity is ever uncovered, they be banned from matches for life.
Others condemned the perpetrator for letting the Three Lions down with their thoughtless act.
Former Liverpool and England striker Stan Collymore tweeted:
If anyone shone a laser pen at Schmeichel, they want banning for life.
— Stan Collymore (@StanCollymore) July 7, 2021
Here’s what other commentators had to say:
it’s a total disgrace that someone flashed a green laser in the face of Kasper Schmeichel last night. England football fans really let the country down sometimes 😤 pic.twitter.com/UoEz8Ed3ms
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) July 8, 2021
Unbelievable.
— JAKE BUCKLEY 🇦🇺 (@TheMasterBucks) July 7, 2021
Someone in the crowd was pointing a laser into Schmeichel's eyes as he was trying to save the penalty Sterling dived for.
Horrible look for England this.
Disgraceful.#EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/LEusViVtMC
This #England team takes the knee and campaigns for equality and fairness. Don’t let them down by using lasers and booing anthems. #GarethSouthgate #ItsComingHome #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/FKeNpzkk9X
— Cristina Parry (@rlocristina) July 8, 2021
It's not ok that someone in the crowd at the #ENGDEN game last night tried to blind #KasperSchmeichel with a laser pen during the penalty. #notcool
— GRVY Graham6 (@graham641) July 8, 2021
A laser in Schmeichel's eyes during the penalty too now i see.
— Siobhán Corcoran (@SiobhanCorc) July 7, 2021
Really difficult to feel that this is a fair result.
And though some suggested that it didn’t make any difference anyway, others insisted this was no justification:
shocking that an england fan shone a laser pen in kasper’s eyes right before he …*checks notes*… saved the penalty. must’ve really put him off.
— brian lefevre (@beardeddumbass) July 8, 2021
That laser pen incident was stupid & there is zero excuse/justification for it. I’d ban that ‘fan’ for life. That said, it didn’t affect Schmeichel considering he saved the penalty. Still, a very poor incident.
— UpperGwladysBlue (@UpperGwladysBlu) July 7, 2021
It doesn't matter that he saved it. Laser pointers can cause serious damage when shone in eyes.
— Craig Murray (@muz729) July 8, 2021
A number went as far as to suggest England should be disqualified as result of their suspected fan’s behaviour:
If the laser incident is real then England must be immidialaty disqualified from the tournament. #dkpol #dkmedier #EURO2020
— Rune Linding (@RuneLinding) July 8, 2021
While others condemned supporters’ conduct throughout the tournament:
In this tournament the #eng scum have; crushed a little german girl everywhere on social media, booed national anthems and used lasers on the players. You do not deserve anything - the creators of fairplay. You are absolutely disgraceful. #Diving #bullying #fairplay #EURO2020
— Nikolaj Hvidberg (@Hvidse) July 8, 2021
English fans mock the Germans & disrespect them during their national anthem. Have a field day when they beat a 3rd world country (Ukraine). Now they point lasers at Schmeichel's eye during the penalty.
— Dave Alon 🏀⚾🏒 (@ButlerFan22) July 8, 2021
Ya it's not coming home. It's coming to Rome. pic.twitter.com/v3AN5G7qlM
In its full statement on the Schmeichel incident, the FA said: “We were first made aware of a report of a laser device being used within the Stadium during the first half of extra time
“The on-site FA team in conjunction with UEFA looked to identify and locate the specific location as to where this originated from, but no source was able to be identified
“Post-match at the request of the Police Match Commander, the UEFA Match Manager was asked to speak to the Danish FA representative to ascertain whether any official complaint was to be made in respect of this
“The Danish FA representative confirmed to the UEFA Match Manager that they did not wish to take the matter any further. Anyone found with a laser device inside the stadium will be removed from the ground.”
All we can say is we hope fans do England’s boys proud as they take on Italy in Sunday’s historic showdown at Wembley.
No one wants to see joyous occasions spoiled by childish and reckless behaviour, least of all Gareth Southgate and his squad.
