You may have heard the quote, made famous by former player and TV presenter Gary Lineker: “Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.”
That is usually the outcome when England played them. But on June 29, 2021, it was different. Riding the crest of a wave of a European Championship mainly played on home soil, England channelled emotion and belief to overcome their old enemy at Wembley.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, there were only 40,000 at Wembley that evening. Many others watched the game at home or in pubs. Charlie Naughton watched the game with his dad and friends in a pub in west London.
Raheem Sterling opened the scoring and, minutes later, had his head in his hands as he almost gifted Thomas Muller a cheap equaliser. Then: Luke Shaw. Jack Grealish. Harry Kane finished — 2-0. Game over.
But while elation consumed the nation, there was tragedy in that pub.
As Naughton celebrated Kane’s goal, he collapsed and died three hours later in hospital. He was 29.
Naughton died during Euro 2020 (Naughton family)
What followed was an overwhelming amount of tributes from across the country, from current and former players, and fans alike. Kane sent his condolences. John Terry donated a shirt and an armband, which were later buried with Naughton at his funeral.
Naughton’s name was sung at the England games that followed on the 29th minute and a fundraiser in his name reached £40,000.
“It was a massive response that we never imagined,” says his cousin, Chloe Wise. “It’s given us so much comfort.”
Charlie Naughton loved football from an early age. He was partial to a game of squash, too, but football was his main sport. He was one of nine grandchildren in a close-knit family and, if he wasn’t playing with his grandad Tony in the garden, he was playing with his friends or watching a game. Chelsea was his team, following them home and away.
Naughton was from Hayes, west London and worked as a bricklayer. He was often the life and soul of the building site and, later in the day, the pubs in which he socialised. His laugh would dominate a room.
“He was so incredibly funny, he always had a nickname for someone,” Wise tells The Athletic. “He was so full of life, so kind, so generous, just a happy-go-lucky guy, nothing ever fazed him.
“You always knew what was right with him and what was wrong, he was very black and white. He loved his football, loved going to the pub, loved being with his friends and family. Such a kind boy with a big heart — a big softie really.
“Charlie did anything for his family, very protective over his mum Karen and younger sisters Daisy and Dolly,” Jake Owen, another one of his cousins, says. “He was a Hayes boy through and through. He didn’t like leaving Hayes, really. The only time he ever left was (for football), going to an away game for Chelsea or in Europe in the Champions League.”
Earlier that month, Chelsea had won the Champions League. With England playing Euro 2020 largely on home soil, Naughton was confident his country could secure success.
The draw was opening up. On June 28, the night before England’s game with Germany, favourites France lost to Switzerland on penalties. “When they were knocked out he was so excited,” his mum, Karen told the Sun newspaper at the time. “All we had to do was beat the Germans and we could win; that it was coming home.
England beat Germany at Euro 2020 (Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images)
“I called him before the game and he said to believe, that he loved me, I told him I loved him…”
Naughton, along with his dad, Pat, and some friends went to The Crown in Cowley, a village in Uxbridge, west London, a stone’s throw away from Hayes.
When Sterling opened the scoring, Naughton whipped off his top and waved it the air. But then tragedy struck. When Kane made it 2-0, Naughton collapsed. Paramedics were called but he died that evening in hospital.
At the time, it was believed he had suffered a heart attack but a post-mortem examination did not find any evidence of a cardiac arrest. The only injuries found on Naughton — an inquest heard in October 2021 — were a bruise on his head from when he fell down and a bitten tongue. He was fit and well. There was no evidence of any diseases in his respiratory system. As such, coroner Lydia Brown recorded an open conclusion.
“He would have been in his element that night knowing we beat the Germans and that’s the comfort I take, knowing how happy he would have been when Harry Kane scored,” Wise says.
Naughton’s death shocked the football world and the tributes came from all over. Kane was one of many in the game who made a public tribute to Naughton, along with Mason Mount and Reece James. Thiago Silva, Chelsea’s captain at the time, sent the family a video message. Former captain John Terry, Naughton’s idol growing up, sent a match-worn shirt and a captain’s armband, which were laid to rest with Naughton’s body. Over 1,000 people attended his funeral.
At England’s following game, against Ukraine in the quarter-finals, fans around the country stood to applaud Naughton in the 29th minute.
“The response we got from England, from Chelsea, with Charlie being such a massive football fanatic, was unbelievable,” Wise says. “Having that to look back on as a family has been really comforting because at the time we were just going along with it, we were also in shock.
“With the 29th minute — Charlie was 29 and he died on the 29th, so it was just our number. We did it for the first game after he died and we just got all these videos from people all over the country singing his name, people were letting off balloons. It was phenomenal and it continued throughout the whole Euros.”
A GoFundMe set up to support Naughton’s family reached £40,000 in a few days. Chelsea offered their support, too, allowing the family to use an executive box to carry out a fundraising auction. A flag adorning Naughton’s name hangs at Stamford Bridge, where his sister Daisy now has a season ticket.
Every year, close family and friends play in a charity football match to honour Naughton’s name. The first event in 2022, held at Brookhouse Football Club, was attended by 500 people. “I had random people just wanting to play to show love to Charlie,” Owen says. “All the proceeds went to the SADS — Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome — charity. Nothing is going to cure the pain but I think Karen was more proud. It broke her but she loves that people continue to honour his name, even to this day.”
For Naughton’s family, watching the Euros this time around has been hard, with Naughton’s anniversary, today, falling during the tournament.
“It’s the little things,” Owen says. “The other night we played on a Tuesday — and that’s the night Charlie died. But we always try and watch games together as a family.”
Naughton was also a big Chelsea fan (Naughton family)
England drew 0-0 against Slovenia but, as it worked out, if Denmark had won their game against Serbia, England would have finished second in the group. Had that been their fate, they would have played Germany, today, on June 29 — the anniversary of Naughton’s passing. Denmark drew the game. England topped the group and will instead face Slovakia tomorrow.
Owen says: “We were saying, ‘Please, please, please, no, Denmark please don’t score’. Karen couldn’t watch, she just kept asking what the Denmark score was, with England staying at 0-0.
“We were dreading it but we were saying, ‘That’s Charlie winding us up!’ Germany, on the 29th of June, three years later, you couldn’t write it.”
Today, Naughton’s family and friends will mark the anniversary with a day at Windsor races before watching England play tomorrow.
“When young people pass away, you look and think, ‘Maybe they shouldn’t have been there’ or ‘wrong time, wrong place’,” Wise says. “But Charlie was where he should have been when he passed away. He was in the pub, he was watching football, watching England beat the Germans, with his friends and family.
“If that’s one thing we’ve had to comfort our grief, it’s that he really was where he should have been.”
(Top photo: Naughton family)
