Football fans raise more than £35,500 for German girl filmed crying after England’s Euros victory

England’s Euro 2020 match against Germany on Tuesday showed the best and worst of the country: despite a fantastic victory against our old rival, supporters proceeded to mock a young German girl seen crying after her team’s defeat.

As cameras panned to the crowd after the second goal and German player Thomas Muller was being substituted, the young girl could be seen with the German flag on her cheek, holding onto someone who may have been her father as he cried.

The comments made towards the child were just one of the negative actions from England fans during the game, with those in the stadium booing when Germany’s national anthem was played.

Both were widely condemned by individuals online, with Twitter users describing the remarks made about the German girl as “disgusting” and “obscene”:

Since then, one Welshman, Joel Hughes, set out to show the supporter that “not everyone in the UK is horrible” by launching a crowdfunder on the donation site, JustGiving.

Writing on the fundraiser’s webpage, Mr Hughes said: “So yeah, England beat Germany in a major competition at last (well done). However, an unsavoury element of social media piled in on this photo of an upset little girl.

“Pretty horrible, to put it mildly.

“Yes, there are more people affected by this than just this little girl but hey, this is just meant to be a token of goodwill. Yes there are other potential good causes, but I’ve picked this.

“I’d like to think that the parents of the little girl will spend this on a nice treat for her so that she knows that not everyone from the UK is horrible and that we care,” it reads.

The fundraiser stands at more than £35,500 at the time of writing, going well past the initial target of £500.

One commenter wrote: “Don’t listen to one idiot on Twitter. We’re not all bad in the UK. Germany is a great country, lots in common with England (more than we all probably admit) and football only matters for 90 minutes!”

“What a great idea. Hope this little girl and her family realises that not all Brits are cruel a**holes,” said another.

A third typed: “Amazing idea. Absolutely disgusted by the comments made about a child.”

However, people on Twitter have been more sceptical of the idea, calling it “weird as f**k” and “ridiculous”:

In an update posted on Friday morning, Mr Hughes wrote that he has not yet contacted the girl’s parents, but has “some strong leads” and is speaking to some German journalists about the issue.

“I’m going to come up with a cut-off date after which this campaign will end. Then, if I’m in contact with the family, they shall get all the funds.

“If not, all funds will go to a suitable charity. I would prefer the former but hey ho – having some good come out of this is the main point,” he said.