Search: ' Euro 68'

Julius Bergmann looks at the alarming recent rise in racism at German matches

Long before Anton Ferdinand and Micah Richards made allegations of verbal abuse from opponents during England Under-21s’ recent win in Leverkusen, German football had been shaken by a series of racially motivated incidents. Werder Bremen striker Patrick Owomoyela was branded as “non-German” by an extreme right party when he was being considered for the 2006 World Cup and Schalke’s Gerald Asamoah, another Germany player, was subject to abuse during a cup tie in Rostock. In Aachen a referee threatened to abandon a Bundesliga match unless offensive chanting stopped. For many, the real low point came when Germany fans sang discriminatory songs during the Euro 2008 qualifier in Bratislava in October.

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The FA's reaction to the Burns Report

Several mysterious half-seen creatures are said to exist in the UK. There’s the Beast of Bodmin, a giant cat that’s held responsible for the death of livestock in south-west England. The Loch Ness monster lurks in various hazy photographs, lovingly reproduced on early-hours TV documentaries. And, perhaps the most spectral of all, there’s Geoff Thompson. He’s a bearded man in late middle age, occasionally sighted getting in and out of taxis, and is said by some to be the chairman of the FA. Many doubted his existence, but suddenly at the end of October 2006 he both appeared in full public view and made a useful contribution to an important matter. Thompson voted to abolish his own post, one in a series of measures for reforming the FA proposed by the Burns Report.

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Sunday 1 “We have something to hold on to now,” says Sir Alex as Man Utd go top, two Solskjaer goals beating Newcastle. Blackburn’s sub keeper Jason Brown saves a penalty and a rebound in his side 2‑1 win over Wigan. Mido is left on the bench as Spurs beat Portsmouth 2‑1; referee Chris Foy apparently apologises to Harry Redknapp for the dubious penalty that gives Spurs the lead: “The ref has gone home knowing people will be saying what a giant ricket he has made.” West Ham lose again, 1‑0 at home to Reading. Nigel Worthington is sacked by Norwich after a third successive defeat, 4‑1 at home to Burnley.

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In its third full season the Bundesliga produced another different champion, Paul Joyce reports

The long-term significance
This season, the third of the Bundesliga, continued the trend that lasted till 1968 of different clubs being champions. TSV 1860 Munich and Eintracht Braunschweig claimed their only league titles in this era and 1.FC Nuremberg won in 1968 – only to be relegated the next year. But the next nine titles were shared by two sides promoted in 1965 – Bayern Munich and Borussia Mönchengladbach. The fluent possession football espoused by Bayern coach Zlatko Cajkovski and Gladbach’s Hennes Weisweiler would also bring success to the West Germany team.

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Six points separated the top five come the end of the season as the blue side of Manchester rejoiced.  Ed Upright reports

The long-term significance
This was the peak of the post-1966 boom – overall attendances were up by well over a million and 15 top division-clubs saw increases. Manchester United and Coventry set all‑time average records, as did Liverpool, who none the less trailed United and Everton in the attendance standings.

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