Footballers coming home to airport fan ban row
HUNDREDS of fans tried to defy a ban on welcoming home the England squad yesterday as they touched down in Birmingham after finishing fourth in the World Cup.
They cheered from behind barbed wire at the perimeter fence, and from on top of a nearby multi-storey car park, despite appeals from airport authorities to stay away.
In keeping with the low-key homecoming, the team landed near the cargo terminal.
Fans also lined nearby streets to try to cheer the players, who left in a chauffeur-driven convoy.
Fan Karen Dench, 28, said: “It is disgraceful – they should have had a better celebration. It is the best performance we’ve had in 28 years.
I know the manager Gareth Southgate doesn’t want a fuss but I think there should have been some sort of reception
"I think we should have had a parade to let fans come and show their support.”
Daran Philipson, 45, of Solihull, said: “I was reading on social media that the airport was telling people to stay away.
“I know the manager Gareth Southgate doesn’t want a fuss but I think there should have been some sort of reception.”
It is understood Southgate did not want the players indulging in a parade as he believes the work has just begun.
The airport said there was no public viewing area and told fans: “You won’t see the team.”
Belgium’s players – who beat England 2-0 to finish third – were welcomed home like champions. Each member of the 23-man squad was congratulated by King Philippe and Queen Mathilde.
The team then rode through Brussels in open-top buses, to mass cheering.