BBC- Aaaarrghhh!

I’m not one of those Welsh people who hate England. I can’t really. England has given me a home, an education, a load of friends, a job and a wife! I don’t have an inclination towards hatred.  Don’t get me wrong, I love good old fashioned banter and in sport, beating England is always better than beating anyone else. I was at Twickenham this year when we won the Triple Crown. Even at the age of 32, I still found it necessary to leap around like an idiot and passionately hug a man I have never seen before or since!!

During the Olympics we are all supposed to come together as British to support our athletes. I have always found this relatively easy. I love the British Lions tours in rugby. I care not that Bradley Wiggins is English, Dai Greene is Welsh or Heather Stanning is Scottish. The important thing is they are not American or Australian! The GB football team is a different matter though.

Divisions are being caused that need not be caused. We all know that the FAW did not support theteam, but the 5 Welsh players in the squad individually chose to take part. I don’t have a problem with this. The FAW have done what they think they have to do to maintain their position within FIFA. The players, not being blessed with the knowledge of certain qualification for any tournament, have done what they feel is right for them. Many Welsh people don’t support the team, but sensibly most of them just pay no attention to the games

Divisions are being caused by the media. The obsession about the Welsh players not singing God Save The Queen is ridiculous. Yes, God Save The Queen is the official anthem of Great Britain, but all of the time that it is used as the anthem for English sporting teams, no Welsh / Scot / Northern Irishman / woman will sing it. It is not the end of the world! According to certain journalists though, the Welsh players are a disgrace. This is pathetic, weak journalism. Save your anger for the convicted drugs cheats who will be running in the 100m, not for players who are representing their team with skill and passion. What makes the whole thing all the more laughable is that the England football team don’t all sing their anthem, and the players who are being vilified, with the exception of Joe Allen, don’t even sing the Welsh anthem. Singing is a personal thing. Some players use it to motivate themselves, others don’t. It doesn’t matter.

I have watched the games, more out of curiosity than of any great passion for the team. On each occasion at least one member of the BBC commentary / presenting team has referred to the team as England. So, that is the British Broadcasting Corporation forgetting that this team represents Great Britain. It is bad enough when the Americans get this wrong, but it is unforgivable for the BBC. This is the broadcasting equivalent of the people who go to Spain on holiday and shout English slowly to communicate with the locals. It is embarrassing.

Why does football have this problem? The swimming / athletics / hockey commentators have no problem in differentiating between GB teams and separate home nation teams. The problem comes from the fact that BBC football offers ‘jobs for the boys’. Employment is based on who you are or who you know, not how good you are. There is no other reason for the continual presence of Crooks and Jonathan Pearce. We pay for these clowns through our licence fee. Can some of that money please be spent on sending them to Geography and History lessons.

Education. You can’t knock it.

Dave Rogers @NoLeftFoot

For more Football Blogs and opinion from football fans around the world