Euro 2020: FA condemns sickening racist abuse of England stars Saka, Rashford and Sancho after penalty misses vs Italy
THE FA are ‘appalled’ at racist abuse suffered by England players on social media after their Euro 2020 final loss.
England were beaten on penalties by Italy at Wembley in heartbreaking fashion on Sunday night.
Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho all missed from the spot as Gareth Southgate’s men fell agonisingly short of Euros glory.
And the trio were all targeted by sick trolls on social media after their penalty misses.
The FA released a statement addressing the ‘disgusting’ abuse their players suffered.
According to The Athletic, Rashford, Saka and Sancho had vile comments left on Instagram and sent monkey emojis.
An FA spokesperson said: “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.
“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.
“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.
“Social media companies need to step up and take accountability and action to ban abusers from their platforms, gather evidence that can lead to prosecution and support making their platforms free from this type of abhorrent abuse.”
England players have been taking a knee before their Euros games in a stand against racism.
The gesture just before kick-off has been used ever since George Floyd’s murder in Minnesota last year.
Players and clubs also boycotted social media for a weekend in May in an attempt to force giants like Facebook and Twitter to take sterner action.
The FA pleaded with fans not to boo the players when making the stand against racism and inequality.
The stance was jeered by a minority of fans in both of England’s Euro 2020 warm-up games at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium – the first occasions the knee had been taken with supporters in attendance.
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But an FA statement just before the Euros began read: “Major tournaments don’t come around often and when they do, it’s an opportunity to unite friends, families and the country.
“Major tournaments don’t come around often and when they do, it’s an opportunity to unite friends, families and the country.
“This gesture of unity and fighting against inequality can be traced back as far as the 18th century.
“It is not new, and English football has made it very clear that it does not view this as being aligned to a political organisation or ideology.
“There can be no doubt as to why the players are taking the knee and what it represents in a footballing context.
“We encourage those that oppose this action to reflect on the message you are sending to the players you are supporting.
“Please respect their wishes and remember that we should all be united in the fight to tackle discrimination. Together.”