The 2024 men’s UEFA European Championship concluded Sunday, as Spain won the tournament with a 2-1 victory over England.
Not only does the result mark yet another example of England coming up short in international competition, but a British pundit’s post on X drew criticism.
Shortly before kickoff, Iain Dale of LBC posted during the Spanish national anthem that all of England’s players sang along to their nation’s anthem while Spanish players didn’t sing to theirs.
“What contrast between the two teams. Every England player belted out the national anthem with gusto. Not a single Spanish player opened his mouth.” Dale posted.
The only problem? Spain’s national anthem, “Marcha Real,” does not contain any lyrics.
Dale wasn’t pleased by the blowback on X.
“So, OK, I didn’t know the Spanish national anthem doesn’t have lyrics. This means of course that according to Twitter I am the thickest person in the country and should hang my head in utter shame. Hey ho,” Dale said in his follow-up post.
The lesson here is that while it’s completely fine to be mistaken or even flat-out incorrect, once you’re proven wrong, you should just accept that and move on instead of doubling down.