English leaders condemn torrent of abuse targeting Black players
• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday condemned the racist abuse targeted at some of England’s Black players following the team’s widely watched loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday evening.
Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka were all viciously targeted by trolls and angry England fans following the defeat at London’s Wembley Stadium. The team lost 3-2 to Italy amid a nail-biting penalty shootout in which all three players missed their shots.
A wave of online abuse soon followed, with monkey and banana emojis and racist comments posted underneath photographs of the players on their personal Instagram accounts.
“This England team deserve to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media,” Johnson said Monday, adding: “Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.”
Prince William, who is president of the England Football Association and was at the game Sunday night, tweeted he was “sickened” by the comments.
England manager Gareth Southgate told a Monday morning news conference that the abuse was “unforgivable” and “just not what we stand for.”
“We have been a beacon of light in bringing people together, in people being able to relate to the national team, and the national team stands for everybody.”
Shortly after the result, which crushed the hopes of millions who believed a championship was finally coming home to England after a 55-year wait, the term “Saka’s Instagram” began trending on Twitter as many highlighted the abusive comments being left on the 19-year-old’s page.
Concerned fans urged other supporters to help protect the mental health of the players by reporting the abuse and leaving positive comments in its place. Some
left red heart emojis in a bid to drown out the negativity, while others said the players had done the country proud.
“Rashford, Sancho, Saka all missing is jet fuel to the worst people on the planet,” wrote one of many people expressing disgust at the treatment of the stars.
“Some English football fans make it so hard to be an English football fan,” wrote British author Matt Haig.
Musa Okwonga, co-host of the Stadio football podcast, tweeted: “Hate is a strong word. But the racist relying on Black English footballers to bring them glory as if they were their servants, then turning on them as soon as they fell short of their dreams, have my deepest contempt.”
England’s Football Association (FA) also condemned the abuse, saying it was “appalled” at the “abhorrent” treatment of the players by social media users and called on the government and social media companies to do more to tackle the issue of online harassment.
“We will do all we can to support the players affected while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible,” the association said in a statement issued on Sunday.
The treatment of the young men was a reminder for many of why the England team “takes the knee” before matches in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, a practice that continued on Sunday when players for both England and Italy knelt before kickoff.
When the Three Lions began doing so at the beginning of the tournament, some England fans booed the team. Johnson initially failed to condemn those fans and British Home Secretary Priti Patel accused the team of “gesture politics.”
Johnson later said that fans should “not boo” and that everyone should get behind the team.
Sharing screenshots of some of the racist remarks, British lawmaker David Lammy said the comments were an example of “why we take the knee,” adding he was “praying for a better future.”
Players of the England squad have frequently been hailed for standing up for human rights and minority groups, with captain Harry Kane wearing a rainbow armband to support LGBTQ pride during the team’s game against Germany.
The standout winger Raheem Sterling was awarded
an MBE from Queen Elizabeth II for his work on anti-racism. Sterling, who was born in Jamaica, has been outspoken, not just on racism during soccer games — which he’s received, prompting fans to be banned from stadiums — but also perceived structural racism and racism in the media.
Some of the worst racial abuse is found online. Earlier this year, professional soccer players boycotted social media for four days to highlight the abuse and racism directed at players and their frustration at social media platforms for not doing more about it. Two days after the ban ended, Facebook apologized for new racist comments directed at Sterling, which were removed from the platform.
Social media has also allowed players to use their huge followings to raise awareness of social issues and injustices.
Rashford, 23, who also plays for Manchester United, campaigned to help feed hungry children across the United Kingdom after the Conservative government attempted to end a plan that would help feed approximately 1.3 million students over the holiday period.
In a letter to lawmakers, the star recalled his own experiences of growing up and having to rely on free school meals to get by, and urged officials to reverse the decision. The government later said it would continue to fund the program.
Yet, despite being hailed as a hero for his activism, a mural of the star was defaced in the city of Manchester overnight as some across the country turned on him following his penalty miss.
After scoring a goal during a match in May 2020, Sancho, 21, took off his football shirt to reveal another shirt that had the words “Justice for George Floyd” scrawled on the front — an action that sparked widespread controversy and earned Sancho a yellow card for his decision to draw attention to the killing.
“We shouldn’t fear speaking out for what’s right, we have to come together as one & fight for justice,” the star wrote on his Instagram account after the match.
Black Lives Matter UK said Monday that it was standing firmly alongside the players who had been “subjected to disgusting racial abuse.”
Sunder Katwala, the director of British Future, a think-tank, said a generation ago, racist remarks were commonplace in stadiums, where right-wing hooligans might chant “Black goals don’t count.” But, he said, while things are dramatically better today at football stadiums — and fans face fines and bans for racist remarks — the abuse has simply migrated online.
“I thought we had won these arguments in society, but it’s gone online where people are disinhibited,” he said.
Last week, the team confirmed that whether it came first or second in the tournament, it would give a “significant donation” of money to Britain’s beloved but overburdened National Health Service, which supported the country as it grappled with the coronavirus pandemic, claiming at least 128,600 lives.