LONDON, July 12: Three Black players who missed penalty kicks for England in the decisive European Championship shootout against Italy were subjected to racist abuse online, prompting the English Football Association to issue a statement condemning the language used against the players.
Bukayo Saka, at 19 one of the youngest players on the England squad, missed the penalty that gave the title to Italy and denied England its first international trophy since the 1966 World Cup.
It was England’s third straight failure from the penalty spot in the shootout, with Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho also missing.
Saka missed the decisive penalty that gave the title to Italy. All three players immediately started receiving racist abuse on social media.
The FA said in a statement it was “appalled” by the abuse of the three players. The team had taken a knee before games at the Euros to signal its support for an end to racial inequality, and the young, multi-ethnic squad won the hearts of the football-mad country before the shootout failure brought out all-too-familiar messages of hate.
“We will do all we can to support the players affected while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible,” the FA statement said.
“We will continue to do everything we can to stamp discrimination out of the game, but we implore government to act quickly and bring in the appropriate legislation so this abuse has real-life consequences.”
London’s Metropolitan Police also said it was investigating “offensive and racist” messages on social media. Rashford, who plays for Manchester United, noted the racial abuse he received on social media in May after the team lost the Europa League final.
England coach Gareth Southgate was criticised for his strategy of bringing in Rashford and Sancho off the bench to take penalties while star Raheem Sterling was sidelined in the shootout. “They were the best takers we had left on the pitch,” Southgate said. “We win and lose together.”
Racial abuse condemned
Rashford’s penalty hit the post and spots kicks from Saka and Sancho were saved on by Italy’s goalkeeper on Monday. Italy won the shootout 3-2 after a match that ended 1-1 after extra time.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan called on social media companies to do more to hold offenders to account. “There is absolutely no place for racism in football or anywhere else,” he wrote in a Twitter post. “Those responsible for the disgusting online abuse we have seen must be held accountable – and social media companies need to act immediately to remove and prevent this hate.”
England’s former star cricketer Kevin Pietersen on Monday joined the British Prime Minister and Football Association (FA) in condemning the racial abuse of three Black players on social media after their loss in the Euro final and wondered if the country should get hosting rights of the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
Pietersen, a former national team captain, got caught in the chaos that broke out after England’s loss to Italy in the penalty shootout of the summit showdown at Wembley.
Cricketers Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes have also appealed to fans to not racially abuse the three England players who missed penalties during England’s Euro 2020 final.
Anti-discrimination leader Piara Powar, who works with UEFA and FIFA, has told SNTV that government regulation of social media platforms “is long overdue” in the wake of racist abuse directed at the England trio who missed the penalties. (Agencies)
