These days, if you sing Three Lions, you get locked up and thrown in jail!
No, you don’t, because those rumours were nonsense.
Thursday morning saw social media awash with reports that Three Lions (It’s Coming Home) would be BANNED(!) at the Qatar World Cup, to prevent the supposedly arrogant song annoying other nations.
David Baddiel and Frank Skinner have explained more times than they’ve had hot dinners that the sentiment of the song is the opposite of that, so you don’t need me to remind you once again that it encapsulates the cycle of hope and disappointment that comes with supporting the national team.
After these rumours had spread like wildfire, the official Twitter account of the England men’s team posted a video of the song being played at Wembley after the side’s Nations League win over Croatia in 2018, accompanied by three lion emojis. The message was clear: we will continue to sing the song.
🦁🦁🦁 pic.twitter.com/LtfBK7B8ky
— England (@England) May 5, 2022
Meanwhile, the FA issued a statement rubbishing rumours of the tune being scrapped.
“Contrary to reports this morning,” it began, “The FA still plays Three Lions at major Wembley matches and has never had any intention of doing otherwise. The song belongs to the fans and is about the hope of following the England team. It was requested by The FA to be played as one of our team songs at the 2018 World Cup and at the EUROs last summer, and this is our plan at tournaments going forwards.”
So that’s that then. It’s coming home!
