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- Catherine evans
- BBC
A South Wales football fan in Britain has started a fundraiser for a young German girl who has been bullied online “to show her that not everyone in the UK is so ugly”.
English fans wrote comments on social media when a young girl appeared onscreen crying amidst the crowd after England beat Germany at Euro 2020.
Former England international Gary Lineker tweeted: “Something very disgusting, a xenophobic disease.”
Joel Hughes has so far raised over £ 8,000 to make a ‘cute present’ for the girl.
Hughes, from Kerlion, in Newport, said he would like to contact the girl’s family about the online fundraising campaign.
“I watched the game, it was a good game,” the 51-year-old businessman told BBC Wales. “I was aware of a negative atmosphere and boos and everything, but I didn’t think about it. “
But after seeing “the despicable harassment of pictures of this little girl” online, Hughes said he believes the UK has “become an intolerant country” and that “there is a lot of xenophobia. now”.
He added: “We have a noisy minority of idiots who spoil the good in the UK, tarnish our image on the world stage and destroy our relationships with our friends and partners in Europe.”
Hughes decided to seek to correct the balance by showing “that there is good in the UK”.
“It hits a lot of people who are fed up with this kind of abuse online,” Hughes said.
He added: “I’m not looking to change the world here… If we can possibly put a smile on this girl’s face or make her parents realize that there is really good in the UK, then at least we will have hit a target. “
He said if the girl’s family is not found, or if she is unwilling to participate, the proceeds will go to “a similar cause closely aligned with the spirit of the campaign.”
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