Politics and sport are uneasy bedfellows at the best of times and that’s particularly true in the modern era, when absolutely everything is so heavily politicised.
Earlier this week, as football prepared to pay tribute to the longest reigning monarch in British history, there were widespread concerns about how fans of certain clubs would react. An announcement on Monday that God Save the Queen/King would be played ahead of this week’s EFL matches was met with understandable apprehension in Swansea.
It may be the British national anthem but that song is usually booed when sung by away supporters at the Swansea.com Stadium. The British anthem was never taught at my school and I’m not sure how many residents of Swansea would even know the words, so aside from arguments over its appropriateness, there was a risk of the whole thing looking a bit silly.
As ever, social media only added fuel to the fire. For those who aren’t aware, recent years have seen regular spats, predominantly online, between small groups of rival British and Welsh nationalist Swansea fans.
These ideological clashes are usually tedious at best and cringe-worthy at worst but they have spilled over into matches on rare occasions, with rows in the stands over flags and Swansea fans actively trying to wind up their fellow Jacks over these issues.
There were fears this could impact any plans the club had to mark the Queen’s death. One side fiercely opposed any suggestion of playing the anthem ahead of the midweek game against Sheffield United, while the other side accused their political adversaries of preparing to disrupt the scheduled minute’s silence.
The mood, online at least, was tense in the run-up to the game. Following the debates on social media, it felt like emotions were running high and risked toxifying the situation. I’ll be honest, it’s been a long time since I dreaded going to watch the Swans as much as I dreaded Tuesday night’s fixture.
I was scared of feuds polluting the occasion, of fans acting in a way which would tarnish the club’s reputation, whether that be by making a scene during a commemoration or even tempers fraying in the stands. I was dreading a situation where off-field bickering would overshadow the match and actively hinder the players by poisoning the atmosphere.
As it happens, I had nothing to worry about. The club wisely decided against playing an anthem which feels foreign to many of its fans, and may have triggered a backlash.
Meanwhile supporters of all backgrounds and beliefs stood quietly in an impeccably observed minute’s silence. The commemoration wasn’t overblown, it was tasteful and respected by all. After all the build-up, it went off in a dignified manner without complications, a real credit to the club and the city.
There’s a reason for that. Swansea fans are generally decent, and there’s so much more which unites us than divides us.
Unfortunately it’s easy to forget this from time to time. Sites like twitter, by their very nature, amplify the most controversial and antagonistic voices which result in hostility, but Tuesday night proved once again that social media isn’t the real world.
Men and women, young and old, rich and poor, left wing and right wing, monarchists and republicans, when you bring thousands of people together to watch football, you’re going to get a very wide range of backgrounds, all united by love for a single club.
Of course we all have our own opinions on what goes on in the news and how this country should operate, but if those views are going to lead to conflict and angst among your own fans, they have no place at the Swansea.com Stadium.
I don’t really want to give credit to anybody for simply respecting a minute’s silence because that sets the bar quite low for basic human decency. But Tuesday night saw people who had been very vocal about their opposition to the monarchy in the days leading up to the match, standing side by side with Royalists and the many who don’t really care either way, and biting their tongues for the evening.
That didn’t make them traitors to their cause and it didn’t mean that one side won over another. It simply meant they put disagreements aside for the evening in the interests of the Swans.
People have the right to free speech but football is an escape for so many people and one of the best things about supporting any football club is the feeling of unity which comes with it. There have been attempts in the past by a small minority of fans to bring tribal politics into matchdays.
Whether it be the handful who seemingly want to turn Swansea into a Welsh version of Rangers for some bizarre reason, or the ones on the opposite end of the political spectrum who spoke openly on social media about potential disruptions in Tuesday night’s commemoration, such behaviour is not in the best interests of the club. Most supporters I speak to are firmly opposed to this kind of politicisation, even if they agree with some of these people’s political views.
Attempting to hijack a club to further a divisive political agenda, no matter how passionately you feel about it, is selfish and counter-productive.
I’m not one to say we should keep politics entirely out of football. Over the years our sport has worked hard for societal change by taking political stances which bring people together. Efforts over the years to tackle racism within the game are a great example of that.
But the nefarious influences who sow division within a fanbase by winding up fellow fans have no place at this club. Thankfully they are a noisy minority and their online bark is usually much worse than their real life bite.
Tuesday’s vibrant atmosphere showed what can be achieved when the Jack Army puts politics and provocation to one side and pulls together. A fanbase is at its strongest when it’s united and that’s particularly true of Swansea supporters.
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