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FA release video instructing England fans to 'behave themselves' in Portugal

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'Don't be that idiot'

The FA have released a video calling for England fans to behave themselves and act responsibility while visiting Portugal for next week's UEFA Nations League finals. The Three Lions take on the Netherlands in the semi-finals of the competition next Thursday, before another clash against either Switzerland or Portugal in either the final or third-place play-off next weekend.

The FA hope that by releasing this 50 second video, alongside the message 'Don't Be That Idiot', that it will help deter fans from anti-social behaviour. The clip ends with manager Gareth Southgate saying "You're part of our team, make us proud".

There have been numerous problems with travelling supporters in recent years, with the FA issuing 127 suspensions between September 2014 - March 2019, alongside a further 237 warnings [via Evening Standard]. 32 members of the England Supporters Travel club were suspended last March, when England travelled to Amsterdam to take on the Netherlands, with clips of anti-social behaviour among fans surfacing on social media both before and after the 1-0 win at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

FA CEO, Martin Glenn, said: "It has been a great season for English football and England but we can't ignore some of the anti-social and embarrassing behaviour that has crept back into the game.

"There are thousands of brilliant supporters wherever our teams go, but there is an increasing problem that must be called out. We all have a responsibility to represent the country in the right way and that is what we are trying to highlight."

Deputy Chief Constable Mark Roberts, National Police Chiefs' Council's Football Policing Lead, added: "The reputation of English football fans has been damaged over the years as we often see a stag-do mentality where too much alcohol is consumed, which results in offensive behaviour and disorder."

Gareth Southgate this week trimmed his 27-man preliminary squad down to 23, omitting Southampton duo James Ward-Prowse and Nathan Redmond, and Tottenham pair Kieran Trippier and Harry Winks. The fitness of leading striker Harry Kane is still in doubt, with it still not known whether or not he'll feature in this Saturday's hugely anticipated Champions League final in Madrid.

The 25-year-old has been included in Southgate's final 23-man squad despite not being declared fully fit, though it does look like that he'll return after Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino revealed that he'd been training with the squad earlier this week.

If Kane isn't ready to start next Thursday, though, it is likely that Southgate will entrust Manchester United's Marcus Rashford to lead the line in Guimarães, with Raheem Sterling and Jesse Lingard either side of him in an extremely attack-minded front three.