Boris Johnson denounces the “racist insults” against English footballers who missed penalties

The racist insults made on social networks against three black players of the English team, after their defeat against Italy in the final of the European Championship on Sunday at Wembley, about which the police opened an investigation, were condemned by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and the coach, Gareth Southgate, who called them “unforgivable.”

“This England team deserves to be treated as heroes and not racially assaulted on social media. Those responsible for those horrible attacks should be ashamed of themselves,” declared Boris Johnson.

At a press conference on Monday, Southgate saw these racist attacks “unforgivable.” “A part (of these insults) comes from abroad, as we have been told, but another part comes from this country,” he added, preferring to focus on the “energy and positive spirit of the fans.”

The English Football Federation (FA) said it was “shocked” and “disgusted” by the racist comments made on social media against the players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, three footballers who missed their penalty in the Euro Cup final lost against Italy.

“We are disgusted that some of the members of our team, who gave everything for the jersey this summer (boreal), have been the target of discriminatory attacks on the networks after tonight’s game,” the FA said on its Twitter profile on Sunday.

All three players, who entered at the end of the game, failed on penalties, sealing England’s defeat against Italy (1-1 in regulation time, 3-2 on penalties) and thus ending the dream of an entire country that hoped to achieve a second great title, 55 years after their triumph at home in the 1966 World Cup.

The prince William, president of the FA, also declared “disgusted” by these racist insults and considered “totally unacceptable that the players have to put up with this hateful behavior”.

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London police claimed to be “investigating” the “insulting and racist” posts.

A Facebook spokesperson indicated that he “quickly removed the comments and accounts that insulted English footballers” and promised “to continue taking action against those who violate our rules.”

Several former players showed their support for the three footballers, calling on the leaders to do more against racism. Gary Neville, formerly of Manchester United, declared that the example had to come “from above”, criticizing Johnson.

While the English players decided to go down on one knee to denounce racism, “the prime minister said that those players who tried to promote equality could be booed,” Neville denounced in SkyNews.

English football has for years faced a phenomenon of online racism against players when they lose their club or after disappointing performances.

In May, the FA asked the government to legislate quickly to force social networks to act against insults on the internet.

To draw attention to this online racism, the FA, Premier League clubs and other bodies decided not to feed their social media accounts from Friday, April 30 to Monday, May 3.

In addition, Sunday’s final was marked by incidents with ticketless fans getting into the stadium by forcing the security fences and bypassing the stadium staff.

A scene of violence with fans beating and kicking an Asian man in the hallways of the stadium was filmed and broadcast on social media.

London police reported that it made 49 arrests on Sunday for various offenses and noted that 19 officers were injured, incidents that it condemned as “completely unacceptable”.