Johnson – and nearly everyone – criticised following Lionesses Euro win
Boris Johnson has come under fire following England’s UEFA Women’s Euro win. Johnson has been criticised for his absence from Wembley during Sunday’s game, as well as ruling out a Bank Holiday in celebration of their win.
It is worth noting that the following the men’s UEFA Euro final, Johnson also ruled out a Bank Holiday. While he did attend the men’s final against Italy at Wembley last year, his attendance and characteristically enthusiastic reactions still became a source of mockery and even political criticism, for example:
Gary Neville aims dig at Boris Johnson after England reach Euro 2020 final
This year’s win led to a different critical narrative following Johnson’s (current) decision to not host the team at Downing Street, despite the fact he made the same decision last year:
NO Downing Street reception for England stars amid squad’s race row with ministers: Plans for bash are shelved but No10 insists the FA NEVER wanted one unless they won Euros
Boris Johnson won’t host Number 10 reception for Lionesses after Euro win
Johnson’s absence from Wembley was also widely criticised. He tweeted a picture of himself watching the game with his children. Over the weekend, he was hosting a wedding party with his wife at Cotswolds, presumably because their previous nuptials were limited to 30 guests in line with COVID restrictions. He also attended David Trimble’s funeral in Northern Ireland on Monday.
No.10 Defends Boris Johnson’s Decision Not To Watch England’s Euro Victory At Wembley
No 10 denies snub to Lionesses after Boris Johnson watches Euros final from Chequers
No 10 says Boris Johnson ‘definitely’ wants Lionesses to receive ‘the recognition they deserve’ amid calls for entire team to get damehoods following historic Euros triumph
No Downing Street reception for victorious Lionesses
Boris Johnson: I haven’t snubbed Lionesses – but no plans for No 10 victory reception
Johnson is also being accused of further snubbing the team since he is going on holiday tomorrow, though how this is exactly connected isn’t clear. It nonetheless provided The Times with a suitable headline to critique Johnson and allude to the belief in a ‘better’ incoming PM, whoever that may be.
Next PM will host Lionesses at No 10 after Johnson snub
On the other side of the coin, however, PM contenders Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have both been criticised too for capitalising on the team’s win for political clout:
Politicians face backlash as they are accused of using Lionesses victory to promote themselves after Ian Wright blasted government for jumping on bandwagon of Euro2022 success
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has also been criticised after the Lionesses have (so far) not been granted an open top bus victory parade through London, raising concerns of inequality.
However, a Trafalgar Square victory parade took place Monday. Is this a case of inequality or simply redefining the celebration format given the team’s winning achievement? The Sun reported that “the FA is understood to have decided against a bus parade on safety grounds”. Without source confirmation, this is impossible to verify – but no other publication has currently run any stories of dismay or inequality around the parade.
It seems nobody can do any right, and there will always be something negative to criticise depending on who you politically or socially align with.
Through the media, everything seems to warp into some kind of division or conflict – even something that should be as unifying as a spectacular win for all – and is enough to make us distracted by anything other than the win itself.
Congratulations to the Lionesses.
