A selfie of two siblings – who support opposing teams – smiling at the Hawthorns has been described by one fan as “what football is about”.
With several big, historic football clubs in the West Midlands, there is much scope for rivalry among peers, friends and even family members.
In the Championship this season, there are three teams from the region – Aston Villa, Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion – meaning six derby league fixtures and plenty of opportunity for banter and bragging rights.
One such fixture took place last week as the Baggies welcomed the Villans to the Hawthorns and played out a four-goal thriller complete with a controversial injury-time finish.
Two goals from Anwar El Ghazi had looked set to give Dean Smith’s side a third away win on the bounce, but with Dwight Gayle having scored just before the half-hour mark, it was on a knife edge going into the end stages.
Then in the 91st minute, from Matt Phillips’ right-wing cross, Jay Rodriguez nipped in ahead of opposition keeper Orjan Nyland and, despite falling to the ground, bundled in an equaliser – albeit with his hand.
Cue the away players complaining to referee Darren England, who in turn consulted with his officials and subsequently gave it, leading to some delighted West Brom fans and some very angry Villa fans as the final score was 2-2.
But despite the raucous atmosphere and potential for animosity, a picture doing the rounds on Twitter of two brothers at the stadium smiling together despite supporting different teams has proved powerful.
Dal supports Villa, while Jasper supports West Brom, and the selfie of the two in different ends, separated by ‘the divide’ but showing family unity, was praised on Twitter by some supporters of both sides:
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