Soccer fans raised $50,000 for a young German child who went viral after she was shown crying on TV when her team lost to England
- A fundraising page raised over $50,000 for a young Germany fan pictured crying during Euro 2020.
- The girl was derided on social media when she was shown on TV after Germany lost to England.
- The creator of the page said the goal was to show that "not everyone from the UK is horrible."
A fundraising page set up to give money to a young Germany fan who was pictured crying at Wembley during England's 2-0 win over Germany at Euro 2020 raised more than $50,000 (£36,180).
The unidentified young girl, dressed in a Germany uniform with the country's flag painted on her cheeks, had her crying face broadcast to the world when it was shown on TV after the game.
Cheers could be heard from some England fans inside Wembley, while others on social media decided to make crude and cruel jokes about her and Germany.
A number of those tweets were then shared by the former soccer player Stan Collymore, alongside the caption: "No words necessary."
Collymore's tweet caught the attention of a Welsh soccer fan named Joel Hughes, who decided to start a crowdfunding page to show the German girl that "not everyone from the UK is horrible."
The JustGiving page says its hopes that her family will spend the money on a treat for the girl.
The creator of the page said it was created because of "an unsavoury element of social media piled in on this photo of an upset little girl."
"This is just meant to be a token of goodwill. Yes there are other potential good causes but I've picked this," the message on the donation site says. "I'd like to think that the parents of the little girl will spend this on a nice treat for her so that she knows that not everyone from the UK is horrible and that we care."
The page is now closed, but it raised more than £35,000 ($50,000) in donations, with more than 3,200 individual contributions being made.
A message on the website says the creator and a JustGiving team are working to locate the girl's family and inform them of the money that is waiting for them.