A German police commander has advised England football supporters not to shout the “Ten German Bombers” song during this summer’s European Championship, telling them, “don’t be dicks”.
The request was prompted by the discovery that Three Lions supporters had been heard singing the song, which makes fun of German deaths during World War II, during England’s friendly match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday at St. James’ Park.
In response, England supporters are being urged by German Police Chief Peter Both to abstain from using it when the Euros begin in Germany on June 14.
Speaking on the 80th anniversary of D-Day, Mr. Both made note of the fact that he would be powerless to punish supporters for merely chanting.
To the tune of the classic folk song She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain, the chant somewhat parodies the nursery rhyme Ten Green Bottles.
The line “bottles hanging on the wall” from the original song is replaced with “German bombers in the air” just before the sentence “…but the RAF from England shot them down”.
A week from Sunday, England will play their first Euro match in Gelsenkirchen, a city in western Germany, against Serbia.
Videos of England supporters belting out the song during Monday’s game went viral, leading some on X to label the fans’ actions as “embarrassing” and others to demand that politics and football be kept apart.
