Downing Street has ‘cancelled’ a reception for England’s footballers – 13 favourite reactions
Plans to invite the England football team to a reception at Downing Street have been shelved, it was reported today.
It comes a day after Boris Johnson and Priti Patel were accused of ‘hypocrisy’ for condemning racist abuse on social media but failing to back the players taking the knee.
No-one put it better than England and Aston Villa player Tyrone Mings, who said this on Twitter.
You don’t get to stoke the fire at the beginning of the tournament by labelling our anti-racism message as ‘Gesture Politics’ & then pretend to be disgusted when the very thing we’re campaigning against, happens. https://t.co/fdTKHsxTB2
— Tyrone Mings (@OfficialTM_3) July 12, 2021
In entirely unrelated news, obviously, a planned reception for the Euros runners-up at Downing Street has been cancelled, reported the Guardian’s Aubrey Allegretti.
I’m told that plans to have the England team to Downing Street for a reception this week have been shelved, with attention turning instead to the PM’s levelling up speech in a few days.
— Aubrey Allegretti (@breeallegretti) July 13, 2021
And it prompted no end of comment as you might imagine. Here are our favourites.
1.
Bottled it https://t.co/ZtRskpM0IY
— Marina Hyde (@MarinaHyde) July 13, 2021
2.
Wonder why? 🧐 🏴 https://t.co/Pn7OX2JKAA
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) July 13, 2021
3.
A beautiful short story pic.twitter.com/aj8whAqUvQ
— James Felton (@JimMFelton) July 13, 2021
4.
What a place to be. A government too scared to invite the England football team to Downing Street because of the players’ commitment to anti-racism. https://t.co/i2ujMIpcqq
— Ian Dunt (@IanDunt) July 13, 2021
5.
The England team probably don’t want to associate themselves with a bunch of losers. https://t.co/a9BMXGjuNl
— Otto English (@Otto_English) July 13, 2021
6.
Brave Sir Boris ran away.
Bravely ran away away.
When footballer players took the knee,
He bravely chose to turn and flee.
Yes, brave Sir Boris turned about
And gallantly he chickened out.
Swiftly taking to his feet,
He beat a very brave retreat.
Bravest of the brave, Sir Boris! https://t.co/PcPzJfazPc— Steve Analyst (@EmporersNewC) July 13, 2021
7.
Our Govt is that person who knows they’re about to get stood up, so they cancel the date and tell everyone it was their decision https://t.co/O95aYn7oXv
— Marina Purkiss (@MarinaPurkiss) July 13, 2021
8.
Johnson not courageous enough here to take a penalty. https://t.co/UZVX1Dazpk
— davidallengreen (@davidallengreen) July 13, 2021
9.
Massive Toby Young stag do vibes here. https://t.co/y8olKRDi03
— David Whitley (@mrdavidwhitley) July 13, 2021
10.
Who could possibly have predicted that a government with a serious aversion to hearing dissenting voices would cancel a reception for a national football team reaching a major final after a player criticised a minister? https://t.co/7YTJGyqI05
— David Henig (@DavidHenigUK) July 13, 2021
11.
What an absolute coward @BorisJohnson.
You jumped on the bandwagon and now you’re jumping off again because – as usual – you’re too scared to face the consequences of your actions and take responsibility. Invite @MarcusRashford @BukayoSaka87 @Sanchooo10 and apologise to them. https://t.co/ISCOYCTCfW
— Angela Rayner (@AngelaRayner) July 13, 2021
12.
Huge “I’ve got a girlfriend anyway” energy from Downing Street with this one. https://t.co/ubor3yg6rj
— Rashford, Saka, and Sancho stan account (@HannahAlOthman) July 13, 2021
13.
https://twitter.com/sazmeister88/status/1414918264258433026?s=20
To conclude …
Ha ha ha https://t.co/9M72dGA75c
— Emma Kennedy💙 (@EmmaKennedy) July 13, 2021
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Source Twitter @breeallegretti
