Viking City Liverpool Norway Row Stupid England Fifa World Cup

While the Viking Row and Erling Haaland’s intimidating run have swept over the World Cup pop culture and fan celebrations, England vs Norway takes the former into ancient history – when they were colonised.

Historian and journalist Joey Durso, who puts rivalries under the lens of History, recalled how the Viking Row is a part of England history that flips the roles.

“Before England colonised anyone, England was colonised by Vikings,” Durso says in his Insta post, adding Norwegian football fans are re-enacting the rowing that did it. “Viking rowing is a brand new thing, players, fans do it. But the idea is ancient that Vikings pull in their sails and row ashore for battle. The most famous time it happened was in England,” he narrates.

In 793 AD Viking longships came to Lindisfarne, an island off Northumbrian coast in northeast England. “It has a famous monastery that had been there for centuries. The island plays a role in ’28 years later’, the zombie film. The sacking was brutal, monks were cut down, some taken as slaves. This horrified Europe. Omens of fiery dragons over sea were everywhere,” Durso says. “One account said the monastery was splattered with blood of priests of God. There was fear that this would happen constantly everywhere. And nowhere on the coast of Europe would be safe from these vicious warriors. It was the first Viking age. You wouldn’t describe it as colonising. For they just raided, robbed stuff, left.”

The plunder was followed a century later by actual colonising. “There was colonisation of England later through side door,” Durso narrates. “In 902 AD, Norsemen were thrown out of Ireland Dublun, rode across Irish sea and they landed in Wirral near Liverpool. It’s a territory, colony, a town. Wirral map still has Norse names – Thingwall, Irby, West Kirby. You have Thingwall, same Norse word as Iceland parliament.”

Durso adds there’s DNA evidence that lots of families in Wirral have Scandinavian blood. There’s also Tranmere Rovers, a ground near Lake District, which means sandbank with cranes on it. “There’s Norse words – fell, beck, tarn – meaning parts of physical landscape. In Lake District, fell is a hill,” Durso said. “Viking raids, colonies – Norway’s huge impact on England. That’s what the row represents. The quarters are a rematch.”

A killjoy fan sat in the Norwegian throng but refused to row. Emil Anners Lappen, an unsmiling fan told Sky News, that he found the celebration”stupid”. The one-man protest called it annoying, a copy and factually wrong.

“I wanted to show it was annoying and I have got my message across,” he said as he became a meme, talking to Sky. “Their song says they rowed across Atlantic. Vikings didn’t row, they sailed across Atlantic. Some Vikings row across rivers and all that. But you can’t row across an ocean,” he said pedantically.

Lappen was also irritated that fans merely wanted the same effect as Icelandic Clap. “Changing the motion doesn’t mean it’s different from the Viking Clap,” he said questioning the originality, saying he will sit still and row nowhere.

While England have lit up the World Cup with rousing renditions of Wonderwall by Oasis, Saturday night will be tough for Noel Gallagher, one half of the famous brothers. Born to Irish parents, he considers himself Irish, and he is also an ardent Manchester City fan. He has previously supported Haaland and Norway.

He told Talksport that prior England teams filled with Man Utd players made him indifferent to the national team. He did say he would get behind John Stones, tall Man City man this time. “I love seeing John there. John’s my mate and he’s coming to the end of his time at City. Guehi looks solid as always (he’s injured), and Erling, I mean, we’re all Norway fans when he plays,” he said leaving his loyalties blurred.

He was at the Spain vs Belgium game on Friday.

Many fans corrected Lappen saying several ancient ships had oarsmen running into three levels to row, when winds were absent i.e. during doldrums.