How did I live the first 55 years of my life unaware of these bad feelings ?

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Murray receives weblog hate mail

Andy Murray

Andy Murray sporting his Saltire sweatband at Wimbledon

Scottish tennis star Andy Murray has denied being anti-English after

receiving abuse over comments he made about the World Cup.

 

Murray has been caught up in the latest cross-border spat after saying

he would be supporting " anyone but England " .

 

Dozens of posts on Murray's Wimbledon blog want him to lose against

Julien Benneteau on Thursday afternoon.

 

Murray has made a statement saying he supports English sportsmen and

does not mind whether England win or lose.

 

The 19-year-old, whose home town is Dunblane, is the UK's number one

ranked player.

 

 

I made a joke, I don't mind whether England win or lose!

Andy Murray

 

During press interviews earlier this month, he said he would be

supporting " anyone but England " in the World Cup finals.

 

But in a statement on his website, he has now said: " Want to say that

I'm not anti-English!

 

" I have supported Tim [Henman] the last 10 years and he is English!

Ricky Hatton is one of my favourite boxers and he is English.

 

" I said I think England will beat Portugal in my press conference!

 

" I made a joke, I don't mind whether England win or lose! "

 

Leg injury

 

Hundreds have posted on Murray's website, which contains an

unmoderated section where people can leave comments about his blog,

since his Wimbledon campaign started on Monday.

 

Although many are supportive, a large number have criticised his

England comments.

 

Some posters said they would now support " anyone but Murray " and one

hopes the teenager will not shake off his latest leg injury.

 

Andy Murray's website

Andy Murray's website, where the posts were published

 

During his first round match on Tuesday - which he won in three sets -

Murray sported a wristband decorated with the Scottish flag.

 

In response to this, another comment reads: " I thought we were all

'British' - but I guess that only applies to the English eh? One day,

we too will get our own National Anthem, our own English Parliament -

and allow our own tennis players to sport the cross of St George on

their own sweat bands. "

 

In Thursday's second round match he meets Frenchman Julien Benneteau

on Centre Court.

 

Murray is ranked 44 in the world, while Benneteau is 11 places lower

at 55.

 

Cross-border tensions

 

The World Cup has stoked up the debate about the relationship between

Scotland and England.

 

First Minister Jack McConnell was criticised for saying he would not

be supporting England.

 

There has been a series of anti-English incidents in Scotland during

the tournament in Germany, including attacks on a disabled man in

Aberdeen and a seven-year-old boy in Edinburgh.