The British Prime Minister has said people "should be ashamed of themselves" for racially abusing England players after the country’s Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy.
England eventually lost out on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Wembley last night.
Within minutes of the defeat, the three players who missed spot-kicks in the shootout – Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka – were targeted with racist abuse online.
In a tweet, Boris Johnson criticised those responsible.
“This England team deserve to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media,” he said.
“Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.”
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.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) July 12, 2021
The UK Labour Party’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said Mr Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel were both "total hypocrites".
Mr Johnson has previously failed to criticise supporters who jeered the protest against racial injustice.
Meanwhile, Ms Patel described taking the knee as “gesture politics” and said England fans had a "choice" over whether or not to boo players as they made their protest.
"The prime minister and the home secretary gave licence to the racists who booed the England players and are now racially abusing England players," Ms Raynor posted on Twitter.
She also likened the pair to "arsonists complaining about a fire they poured petrol on".
"Racist and offensive"
Police said they were investigating "racist and offensive" messages on social media.
The English Football Association (FA) released a statement condemning the abuse in the early hours of this morning.
“The FA strongly condemns all forms of discrimination and is appalled by the online racism that has been aimed at some of our England players on social media,” it said.
“We could not be clearer that anyone behind such disgusting behaviour is not welcome in following the team. We will do all we can to support the players affected while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible.”
The England team said from their Twitter account they were “disgusted” at the racist abuse.
We’re disgusted that some of our squad – who have given everything for the shirt this summer – have been subjected to discriminatory abuse online after tonight’s game.
We stand with our players ❤️ https://t.co/1Ce48XRHEl
— England (@England) July 12, 2021
Meanwhile, nearly 50 people were arrested after the match was over.
The Metropolitan Police said 19 officers were injured as they “confronted volatile crowds”. They condemned the “wholly unacceptable” behaviour of some fans.
