Tartan Army’s ‘deep fry your pizzas’ chant has a rival – leader comment

Scotland isn’t exactly famed for healthy living. We seem to take a perverse pleasure in our bad diet as evidenced by the Tartan Army’s amusing chant during a 2007 game against Italy: “Deep fry your pizzas, we’re gonna deep fry your pizzas.”

The Tartan Army once warned Italy that their pizzas would be deep-fried (Picture: Ian Rutherford)

So it is gratifying to discover that a Scottish scheme to improve the weight and diet of football fans has proved so successful that it has been introduced in other European countries.

The European Fans in Training programme involved more than 1,100 supporters of clubs in England, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal with training sessions run by community coaches resulting in an increase in the participants’ consumption of fruit and vegetables and physical activity. EuroFit – based on Scotland’s Football Fans in Training (FFit) – is now to be expanded across the continent.

Scotland has the highest football attendances in Europe per head of population and the game plays a huge role in many supporters’ lives, giving clubs considerable scope to act as role models. Just don’t expect “we’re going to lightly sautée your aubergines” to ring round the stadiums any time soon.