Nick Bohn, left, and Tim Ashwell, at the campsite in Ukraine.
FOOTBALL fans from the Isle of Wight this week paraded a coffin in Ukraine as a protest at comments by former England defender, Sol Campbell.
In a TV interview before Euro 2012, Campbell warned England fans to avoid travelling to Ukraine because of fears over violence.
Campbell was filmed saying "you could end up coming back in a coffin" and voiced his concerns about racism at the tournament.
However, two Island-based fans, Nick Bohn, 43, and Tim Ashwell, 40, who have followed England abroad for many years, believe Campbell’s comments were wide of the mark.
As a protest, the pair and other England fans in the Ukrainian city, Donetsk, paraded a coffin, which they bought from an undertakers and painted in the colours of the St George’s flag.
They also wrote "you’re wrong Campbell" and "we will do what we want" on the side of the coffin.
Tim, deputy manager at Medina Leisure Centre, said: "Everyone out here has been so friendly, it has been amazing.
"They have made a special campsite, with a pool and entertainment and we have interpreters.
"The comments were not called for and I think Campbell should apologise."
He added: "With the Olympics coming up, how would we feel if people did not visit because someone pointed out there were racially motivated attacks on British streets."
Ukrainian police provided free transport to the centre of Donetsk so the fans could parade the coffin, which had to be authorised by the British and Ukrainian embassies.
The parade featured in many national newspapers this week, as England prepare to clash with Italy in their Euro 2012 quarter final tonight (Sunday).
Tim said: "We had signs made up in Russian so the locals could understand the message we were trying to get across.
"We really were not expecting more than 100 press people scrambling for our attention."
Reporter: mattw@iwcpmail.co.uk