In the past, English fans – but they were not the only ones – took the war metaphor too far and acted more like invading armies on the continent of Europe, terrorizing towns unlucky enough to stage an England game. But players, too, sometimes have failed to conceal national animosities: when Holland beat Germany in a memorable European semi-final in 1988, one of the Dutch players ostentatiously wiped his bottom with a German shirt.
过去英格兰球迷太过痴迷于战争的比喻，行为举止简直就像欧洲大陆上的侵略军，因此吓坏了不幸举办英格兰队比赛的城市。但球员有时也并不隐藏自己的民族仇恨：当荷兰在令人难忘的1988年欧洲杯半决赛上击败德国后，一名荷兰球员夸张地用一件德国队球衣去擦自己的屁股。