Last week was England’s last friendly match before the World Cup. Saturday saw their first match of the tournament – England vs Paraguay.

I’d watched last week’s game at Gulliver’s, and so it seemed the obvious place to watch this one.

I made it to the pub before kick-off, but too late to get a seat. Still, I had a decent enough view of the big screen. At five-to eight the TV was still showing the celebrations of the King of Thailand’s 60th anniversary on the throne. No pre-match build-up. Oh well, surely not such a bad thing.

One minute to eight, still no sign of the football. Bear in mind that the 2pm UK time kick-off means an 8pm kick-off here. I am in the company of several hundred drunk England fans. It is a criminal offence to criticise the Royal family in Thailand.

There was, how can I put it, a little unrest. No violence that I saw, but I don’t think that the Thais present appreciated the booing of the King, nor the creatively offensive chanting.

Coverage finally began at 8.30pm, so we missed the first third of the game. The only goal of the game was scored after 2 minutes, 28 minutes before we were able to start watching.

I understand the importance of the monarchy here, but I also understand the rabid mania of the English football fan. A dangerous mix…