England manager Gareth Southgate labelled a section of the country’s supporters an “embarrassment” after trouble during the Nations League Finals.
Southgate’s team suffered a 3-1 extra-time loss to Netherlands in a semi-final in Guimaraes on Thursday, but some England fans have caused problems in Portugal.
Riot police charged fans on Wednesday after bottles were thrown in a designated fan zone at Porto’s Praca da Liberdade, where Portugal supporters gathered to watch their team’s 3-1 win over Switzerland.
Although further large-scale violence was avoided, there were also clashes involving England fans and police around night spots on Rua da Fabrica and Rua de Candido dos Reis, which are adjacent to Praca da Liberdade in the city centre.
Speaking after his side’s defeat, Southgate slammed the element of fans misbehaving.
“I haven’t seen it, I’m aware of it. The saddest thing for me is we have thousands upon thousands come and support us brilliantly and have the ability to enjoy themselves without causing offence or causing problems,” he said.
“But we have a group who are an embarrassment. As an Englishman, they aren’t supporters of the team, they reflect so poorly on us as a country.
“It was an absolute rollercoaster, as so many of the big nights with @England are.”
Gareth Southgate has been speaking to @itvfootball after the #ThreeLions were beaten by the Netherlands: pic.twitter.com/DW1H4DyBRA
— England (@England) June 6, 2019
“We don’t associate ourselves with them at all.”
England will face Switzerland in a third-place play-off in Guimaraes on Sunday.
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