England fans take aim at Gary Neville after Union Jack row with brutal chants against Latvia

Ben McCaffrey

By Ben McCaffrey


Published: 14/10/2025

- 21:13

Updated: 14/10/2025

- 21:26

Thousands of travelling England fans were in full voice on Tuesday evening

England supporters in Riga turned their back on Gary Neville during Tuesday's World Cup qualifier, with offensive chants branding the former defender a "w***er" ringing out from the away section.

The chants appeared to be a direct response to Mr Neville's recent LinkedIn post, where he criticised "angry, middle-aged white men" and revealed he had removed a Union Jack flag from one of his development sites.


"The Union Jack flag being used in a negative fashion is not right," Neville had said.

The travelling fans did not stop there, delivering a pointed message to Thomas Tuchel about his criticism of England's support.

Gary Neville

England fans took aim at Gary Neville after his controversial comments on LinkedIn

|

PA

After the German manager had blasted Wembley's atmosphere as "silent" and "sad" following last week's 3-0 victory over Wales, the 2,500 supporters who made the trip to Latvia's capital made their feelings crystal clear.

From the opening minutes at the Daugava Stadium, sarcastic chants aimed at Tuchel echoed around the ground, with fans determined to show they hadn't forgotten his comments about their lacklustre support.

JUST IN: Newcastle star in unseen explosive outburst as boss is sacked after nightmare run

England fans

2,500 England fans were in full voice in Latvia

|

REUTERS

The songs continued even after Anthony Gordon gave England the lead, as supporters kept up their vocal response throughout the match.

"Are we loud enough for you?" and "Thomas Tuchel, we'll sing when we want" were among the barbed chants that filled the Baltic air, as fans mockingly responded to the manager's criticism.

**SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY GB NEWS SPORTS NEWSLETTER HERE**

The supporters even broke into a deliberately ironic "Our support is f****ing s**t!" - clearly mocking Tuchel's assessment of their vocal backing of the team.

At one point, the travelling fans encouraged the German to join in, chanting "Thomas, give us a song!" in what seemed to be good-natured banter rather than genuine malice.

LATEST SPORTS NEWS:

Thomas Tuchel

The support also took aim at England boss Thomas Tuchel, who criticised a 'silent' crowd at Wembley earlier in the week

|

REUTERS

Tuchel's original complaints came after England's comfortable win at Wembley, where Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins and Bukayo Saka all scored within the first 20 minutes against Wales.

Despite the dominant performance in front of 70,000 home fans, the German was left fuming about the atmosphere, saying: "The stadium was silent. We never got any energy back from the fans."

He had been particularly frustrated that Welsh supporters could be heard over the home crowd, adding: "If you just hear Wales fans, it's a bit sad. The team deserved big support."

Thousands had left early due to Underground delays, with fans resorting to Mexican waves and paper aeroplanes during the second half.