Maybe he did it because Max is German. Just a thought.

Do you really think footballers take time to learn about the history of which countries they play in?

Most are vacuous and self centred and only think about themselves. It is no surprise he hasn’t got a clue who Hitler was, I expect at least 20% of the UK population hasn’t. Or he could be lying!

Or maybe he did it because the waiter was throwing his weight about!
Who knows. Who cares frankly.
People in England need to realise that they are still free to take the mickey out of Hitler whenever they wish. If we forget the significance of this, even dare I say it, punish it, we are turning our backs on the millions of this countrys' elders and its allies, millions of whom lost their lives in WW2.
They lost their lives defending the freedom that Hitler was attacking. Hitler was an extreme leader who if he had won would have made this place very different today.
They gave us lot the freedom on this island to do what we have done with it. OK question that, and all the mamby pamby snowflake approach that we have created and accepted, but dont ever forget what gave us that opportunity.
They lost their lives in really grim circumstances where only the luckiest toughest survived. Where people were awarded honour for bravery for stabbing loads of jerries through the heart with their bayonets. Where millions were blown to smithereens by grenades and bombs. Dont ever let this be forgotten. These were fit young men like many I see at the Palace regularly. Many of them Teenagers and early twenties.
So to refer to taking the michael out of Hitler as abhorrent is someone who either skipped history classes at school, is too young to have been told the truth at school, or who is not from these shores and therefore should not be commenting so negatively on such a sensitive issue.
Lets have a little respect for the ancestors of this country who gave up their lives for its current residents. And feel free to knock their enemy whenever you wish.
If the FA had punished Wayne god only knows what would have kicked off.
Why else do you think the hearing was delayed???

Edited by dreamwaverider (17 Apr 2019 10.00am)

Benito?

It even won an Emmy Award when it was broadcast in the United States on both commercial and public TV (check your local listings). If the FA statement is to be believed, Hennessey's lack of knowledge of what a "Nazi Salute" (Hitler Gruss in German) looks like may be considered testament to the shockingly bad teaching of history in our schools, both in the UK & US. Nobody ever claimed footballers are honor students. Steve Coppell and Gary O'Reilly are atypical of the profession. FYI while living in London from 1989-92 I was a supply teacher at Dunraven School in Streatham before it went grant maintained.

My take on the FA statement is slightly less believing they are telling the truth and are in the midst of a CYA exercise. I believe what Hennessey actually said was he was not aware what he was doing was the Hitler Gruss and had no intention of doing such a thing, a position he has maintained straight through. As I said earlier, even if he does know not what it is and looks like that is more an indictment of his education and not him personally as the FA intimated. No wonder I refer to them as Sweet Fanny Adams. No matter what I think of his talent and performance he seems to me to be a decent chap doing the best he can. It is Sweet Fanny, reacting to public reaction, that made this into a thing.

I fully agree with Mapletree about the very strong tradition of satire in British culture. Wasn't there a song during the war "The Furher's Face" that included the Bronx cheer? Mel Brooks has made a fortune parodying Hitler in dozens of things, from "The Producers," which still holds the record for most Tony Awards won in a single year to "To Be Or Not To Be." Roberto Benigni won plenty for "Life is Beautiful." One of the best episodes of "Fawlty Towers" is "The Germans." The sight of John Cleese parading around like a Storm Trooper is considered one of funniest bits on TV anywhere. Monty Python constantly parodied WW II, in fact, they parodied just about every war every fought. We seem to forget context and by doing so we cheapen the real offenses against decency. Going out on a limb,I find that the #MeToo movement has become counter-productive and is at risk of seriously damaging the very real issue of abuse. Joe Biden trying to calm down a nervous candidate for public office is nowhere near the same as Harvey Weinstein's alleged serial use of the casting couch. A street thief shouting racism when arrested for stealing is not the same as Raheem Sterling identifying clearly racist chanting directed at him and others at a football match. Wayne Hennessey waving his arm back and forth while cupping his hand over his mouth does not make him the British David Duke. Just because Sweet Fanny Adams says he has a "lamentable degree of ignorance" (their words as quoted by the BBC) doesn't make it so. Is it possible that the FA had a "lamentable knowledge of safety procedures" (my words) when they approved of the arrangements for the FA Cup Semi-Final played on 15 April 1989, 30 years ago? In fact, that is exactly what I am saying it in my view it rises to the level of culpable negligence. Wayne Hennessey's arm waving rises to the level of nothing.

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Gregg Berhalter, US International & USMNT Head Coach
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John Lennon was doing the Hitler salute to German fans back in the early sixties.

I thought we fought a war against authoritarianism.

God save us from the puritans.

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