Players stress importance of unity and describe how war affects their preparations for the tournament
England’s first ever Uefa Nations League trip will be played behind closed doors as Croatia complete a stadium ban for having a swastika on their pitch.
The group draw for the new competition took place in Lausanne last week, with Gareth Southgate’s men pitted against Spain and Croatia in Group A4.
The Three Lions kick off with a home match in Spain on September 8 and then travel to Croatia on October 12 — a match Uefa has confirmed will be played behind closed doors.
The ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans was based on evidence of a pattern of violence and hatred targeting Arabs and Muslims, two communities that have a large population in Birmingham — overturning the ban was tacit acceptance of the genocidal ideology the fans espouse, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE


