Morrisons prompts complaints for playing English football songs in its Scottish stores

Morrisons has stopped playing English football anthems in their Scottish supermarkets after angry complaints from customers.

Scottish football fans complained after the songs were blasted out through shop speakers in the run up to this summer’s World Cup.

The tunes included Frank Skinner and David Baddiel’s hit "Three Lions", "Vindaloo" by actor Keith Allen, and the official England song for the 1990 World Cup, New Order’s "World in Motion".

Outraged shopper Christopher Vale, 25, told the Daily Record: “I couldn’t believe it. I thought I’d taken a wrong turn and ended up in the middle of England. It’s just rubbing in the fact that England are playing in Brazil and Scotland didn’t qualify.”

The Bradford-based supermarket chain said the offending songs, which had been used in their English stores, had been accidentally added to the playlist being used across the UK.

Michael Wood, head of Supporters Direct Scotland, told The Independent: “This is something that happens all the time. Quite often campaigns cross the borders because the people who organise them don’t really think that that Scotland is different.”

Hamish Husband of the West of Scotland Tartan Army said given the choice, the majority of Scottish fans would support England in the World Cup up to the semi-finals, but that playing English songs continually had stretched their patience a bit too far.

“I have a personal memory of 70,000 England fans singing “football’s coming home” after Gascoigne’s goal in 1996 and it still brings back a feeling of despair,” he said. “The songs aren’t even that good.”

Morrisons said in a statement: “As soon as we noticed the error, the songs were removed from Scottish stores.”