EURO 2024: The Good, bad and ugly faces of Europeans- from overzealous “black face” fans to the weed-smoking English audience, here are some photos we need to talk about

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

The EURO 2024 is currently underway and the tournament hasn’t actually been off-the-hook yet, asides from the impressive youngsters who are taking charge of the tournament, and the incessant scoring of own goals, every other thing has been on the minimal.

Germany, who are the EURO 2024 host have been able to amass an impressive six points in the opening two games, confirming that they will be heading into the next phase of the competition as group A leaders. Spain, another team with maximum points will also be progressing as the group leaders after defeating Italy 1-0 in Group B.

Amid the elation for the host, Germany and three times winners, Spain, Robert Lewandowski’s Poland are all gloomy as they will be heading out of the competition first after losing their opening two matches.

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Expectedly, these fans would determine the reaction of fans at the respective venues. Various moments have emerged from the circumstances of the matches, performances of the footballers and the rivalry of the nations (is it merely football or politics are elements entangled in it?)

In this article, we would be reviewing the reaction of fans and patriots from across various stadiums at the EURO 2024 tournament in Germany.

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“Blackface” Dutch Fans

A couple of Dutch fans who were captured during the Netherlands opening match against Poland have been called out for painting their faces black. The “black face” which is often seen as offensive and a racist gesture has been described as an allusion to former Dutch captain and European champion, Ruud Gullit who won the title the Oranjes in 1988.

Reacting the gesture, Ruud Gullit claimed that he is “honoured” to have been caricatured by a group of fans overzealous fans who painted their faces black and donned his famous “dreadlock” with the renowned orange shirt of the Netherlands nation team.

Although that is one of the most controversial photos from the tournament, it has quickly become one of the most infamous photos from the competition. News Round The Clock (NRTC) also gathered reports that English fans have been admonished to embrace smoking weed instead of drinking alcohol.

See more interesting photos from the competition below: