England booked their place in the Euro 2020 final on Wednesday night, but it's fair to say their victory over Denmark did not come without controversy.
The 'foul' that led to the winning penalty was a highly contentious one, while that passage of play should not even have been allowed to develop after a second ball appeared on the pitch. A laser being shone in Kasper Schmeichel's eyes as it was being taken really topped things off.
Despite this, it was an understandably huge night for English football. Their fans celebrated accordingly, with the vast majority of them doing so in a cheerful and respectful manner.
However, some did not cover themselves in glory in the aftermath of that game.
A number of reports have been emerging over the last couple of days about the treatment some Danish fans fans received on that night and it has not painted a pretty picture.
One supporter told the Evening Standard how a number of England fans stormed a bus she, her son, and husband had been on after spotting their Denmark shirts through the window. They then boarded the bus to abuse the family after the driver opened the doors.
We were sitting with a sleeping child when a crowd of people spotted our Danish T-shirts through the windows.
They started banging on the windows and the doors, screaming and yelling...
At this point I became aware my son was getting afraid, and he went up the stairs. I went after him.
When my back was turned, one guy leapt up and punched my husband in the stomach. A lovely passenger who tried to help us was slapped in the face...
We’re just a family. We just wanted to support our team. I don’t understand - why wasn’t winning enough?
My husband, who is actually American, was really angry, he told them they should be ashamed of themselves, that they were disgracing the English team. England’s team deserve better fans.
The woman's husband, Lane Greene, soon took to social media to speak about the experience, comparing to that of other Danish supporters. He also shared a message from a friend who spoke about an entirely contrasting meeting with Ireland fans at Euro 2016.
From a friend: Sorry that was your experience. When we were in France for Euro 2016, Ireland played Sweden in Toulouse, and the chant that the Irish baited anyone sporting Swedish colors was “Go home, to your sexy wife! Go home, to your sexy wife!”
— Lane Greene (@lanegreene) July 9, 2021
Danish outlet DR shared a number of similar incidents experienced by other Denmark supporters.
One supporter told DR how her young daughters had been spit on while making their way into the ground and were subsequently afraid to show their team's colours once inside Wembley.
My daughters aged 14 and 11 did not dare take off their jerseys and show off their Danish football jerseys and hats because they were intimidated by the English fans.
We were spit on when we walked into the stadium and people shouted insults.
Another fan recalled how she was repeatedly told to "fuck off to where you came from", something that made her England supporting boyfriend say he hopes the team are hammered by Italy in Sunday's final.
You can read about some other similar experiences of Danish fans here.
Of course, this represents a small minority of England fans, but it seems that such altercations were a regular occurrence bother before and after Wednesday's game.
You would really hope we do not see a repeat of that for the final.
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