The behaviour of the English yobs in France is deplorable, despite the protestations of Tory MP Alan Clark and the dowager Marchioness of Reading.
But the genuine fans are proving as resourceful and enthusiastic as ever, even though the French media has relished tarring all English supporters with the same brush. The local paper in Lens, La Voix du Nord, was being characteristically sententious yesterday morning, moaning that the English invasion was a catastrophe for the town. Why, it continued, couldn't the English be more like the Spanish supporters who had proved such wonderful guests earlier in the tournament?
With the story was a picture of a group of quiet and well-behaved senores - dressed in the blue, red and yellow of their national team - watching a game in a bar. The owner was quoted saying the Spaniards were a joy to serve.
Little did he know. The softly-spoken cherubs were not Spanish at all, but Britons masquerading in foreign kit to ensure they were treated with fairness and respect.
Andre Delelis, the mayor of Lens, did his bit for Anglo-French relations when he declared yesterday that he would be cheering on Colombia against England.
Monsieur Delelis has been getting increasingly exasperated during the last few days. His town has reverberated to the sound of provocative English football songs - "If it wasn't for the English, you'd be Krauts", etc. Then, all the bars in town were closed, depriving honest folk of lucrative trade.
Monsieur Delelis showed his displeasure with the English hordes by inviting a Colombian diplomat to his official residence and announcing afterwards that England deserved to lose and he would be shouting for Valderama and co.
"It's only fair that Colombia win, because the English have shut down my town," he said.
He might be "a very nice man", but the company he works for, the Automobile Association, is proving a real killjoy.
Yesterday the AA attempted to dampen World Cup over-excitement by reminding children that knocking a football around in the street is illegal.
Flout section 161 of the 1980 Highway's Act and you could end up having to pay a £200 fine - a penalty which could fall on parents of those under 18.
Andrew Howard, AA Head of Road Safety said: `Many children still use the roads as football pitches and the most obvious time to emulate their heroes is after a match has finished.'
Spare of thought for Tony Blair. The Prime Minister, branded the most dangerous man in Britain by the Sun earlier this week, may well have had his World Cup viewing ruined by the regulars at Trimdon Labour Club.
Tony decided to watch the England Colombia game there, then learned that club manager Paul Trippett would not be turning the TV on until the bingo game had finished.
Mexico City surveyed the damage yesterday after fans Ran amok following the Mexican team's qualification on Thursday for the second round of the World Cup championship. Seventy-eight people were hurt and 164 arrests in clashes with police.