The English national football team lost to Italy in a penalty shootout in the Euro 2020 final and failed to win the trophy at Wembley Stadium. Marcus Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho, and Marcus Rashford failed to score their penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw at 120 in extra time, making them the target of racist abuse. Angry England fans attacked the three players on social media after the match and insulted them racially. They used the monkey emoji for these three players.
The Football Association’s Reaction to Racist Insults
England’s Football Association (FA) issued a statement condemning racist attacks on the players of the national football team on virtual networks after England lost on penalties to Italy. We strongly condemn all forms of discrimination and racism committed against certain members of the England national team online, the FA said in a statement. England’s national football team also issued a statement condemning the attacks on the team’s players on social media. We express our disgust at the discriminatory behaviour and insults in cyberspace against some of our players who gave their all to the national team over the summer, the team wrote on Twitter.
Boris Johnson Also Condemns Racist Attacks
Boris Johnson has condemned the “appalling” racist abuse on social media directed at a number of England players after their defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 final. The Metropolitan Police have also opened an investigation into the abuse. The prime minister tweeted his condemnation on Monday morning, after the Football Association issued a statement shortly after the match, describing “disgusting behaviour” among some fans online, and urging police to implement “the toughest punishments possible”. Johnson wrote: “This England team deserve to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media. Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.”
Deputy Leader of Labour Party Reacts to Boris Johnson’s Remarks
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Angela Rayner, was even more explicitly critical, saying Johnson and Patel “gave licence to the racists who booed the England players and are now racially abusing England players”. She said they were “like arsonists complaining about a fire they poured petrol on – total hypocrites”.
Police Investigation into Racist Attacks on Football Players
London’s Metropolitan Police on Monday said it was investigating the waves of online racial abuse faced by the English football team’s Black players after the squad was defeated by Italy in the Euro 2020 final. “We are aware of a number of offensive and racist social media comments being directed towards footballers following the Euro 2020 final. This abuse is totally unacceptable, it will not be tolerated and it will be investigated”, the Met Police wrote on Twitter.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan Reacts to Racist Attacks
The Mayor of London slammed the abuse aimed at Black players as ‘abhorrent’. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is urging social media companies to do more to remove and prevent hate after racist abuse was aimed at England players after the final of Euro 2020. The Mayor issued a statement after racist messages were sent to England players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka following England’s defeat by Italy at Sunday’s final at Wembley.
Disappointing Report by the British Commission Against Racism
A report by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities claimed that the white-majority country had fewer problems than other white-majority countries around the world, and that most of the social crises and inequalities apparently stemming from racism had reasons other than everyday racism. The report rejected structural racism in Britain and claimed that non-British nationals had also achieved success in society. Only children of colour who came to the country from former British colonies in the Caribbean were “less successful than whites in society.”
Halima Begum, CEO of the Runnymede Trust, the UK’s leading independent race equality think tank, called the findings “Quite disappointing” and said that “The report clearly got a lot wrong. The very idea that government evidence confirms that institutional racism does not exist is frankly extremely disturbing. A young Black mother is four times more likely to die in childbirth than her white friend. A young Black man is 19 times more likely to be stopped and searched by the Met than his young white neighbour. As we saw in the early days of the pandemic, 60% of the first NHS doctors and nurses to die were from our Black and ethnic minority communities. For Boris Johnson to look the grieving families of those brave dead in the eye and say there is no evidence of institutional racism in the UK is nothing short of a gross offence..”
Race Statistics in the UK Prove Government Claims to Be False
Lisa Nandy, Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, also said that the large number of black and African-American teenagers and young people detained in the UK proved to be completely contrary to the government’s claims. Statistics show that our country is still involved in a structural and deep-rooted racism. Even Meghan Markle, the bride of the British royal family, in an interview accused the royal family of racism and lying. According to him, before the birth of her son Archie, the royal family expressed concern about how black the skin colour of this child could be.
The Rise of Racism in English Football in Recent Years
Racist incidents in English football have increased dramatically over the years, with players such as Rashford, Raheem Sterling and Wilfried Zaha being heavily attacked. Although England is still the only country that remembers George Floyd before the start of football matches, it is deeply involved in racism and has not yet been able to resolve this issue in its own country.
This is happening at a time when the Boris Johnson government has no will to solve the problem. The rise of racist attacks has raised concerns among racial minorities in England and they no longer feel as secure in society as they once did. They blame the government for the rise of racism, because Boris Johnson has so far taken no action to reduce is and has practically failed to do so.
