FOLLOWING four weeks of drama during the Euros, we’ve had a few instances of seeing politics and sport crossover.
The event coincided with the General Election in the UK and a snap French election, not to mention the ongoing battle for the White House between Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.
Given the power of both sport and politics to unite and divide, interaction between the two was always likely.
After England and Spain faced-off in the final on Sunday with Spain winning 2-1, an England fan was spoken to by Sky News and used the moment to shout “Free Palestine”.
He was quite quickly palmed away by the reporter who said: “We’ll leave that there thank you very much, we don’t need that do we?”
The move by the interviewer has not gone down well with viewers, with many unimpressed – particularly with the final remark of “we don’t need that”.
On the clip on Instagram, one user commented: “He needs to have a look at himself because right now he’s sitting on the wrong side of history.”
Another said: “We need a free Palestine before an England win – well done, young man, proud of you – reporter should be ashamed of himself.”
Elsewhere, how the media handled a Labour MP declaring his support for a republic during last week’s swearing-in ceremony has come under the spotlight.
Clive Lewis took his affirmation “under protest” in a strong message about his desire to see a democratically-elected republic.
But he is not happy with how some outlets reported on the move, suggesting some have created “hysteria” over a viewpoint that is “no big deal”.
We can take a look at some of the headlines. GB News decided to go with “Keir Starmer told to ‘immediately’ oust MP from Labour Party after making ‘disgraceful’ anti-monarchy protest”.
The Mirror said he was “slammed as ‘coward’”, while the Daily Mail said he was ridiculed for such behaviour.
The Eastern Daily Press – one of his local papers – said he took a “swipe at the monarchy” which was a phrase he specifically cited in the video as he complained about the “hysteria” created.
One thing that is clear is that most media outlets continue to be uncomfortable with an anti-monarchy sentiment which is growing in volume, but how long can they keep going?
We know from polls earlier this year that half the country – if not more – support shifting to an elected head of state.
This week’s State Opening of Parliament is set to attract a huge group of republican protesters and it will be interesting to see whether this is ignored or given attention and analysis by the media as it should be in what is clearly a fast-changing landscape.
