Police have arrested five people on charges of racially abusing England players after the UEFA Euro 2020 final against Italy. English trio Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Byako Saka missed penalties in the final match and faced racism online on social media platforms. The final was greeted with assault and horrific comments and abuse.
The UK Football Police Unit has suggested they are working on a large number of reports of abuse and have already made five arrests. Labeling the abuse and threats as “utterly despicable”, Police Director Mark Roberts sent a warning to those found guilty of racial abuse. “If we recognize that you are behind this crime, we will pursue you and you will face dire consequences for your shameful actions,” he said.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson also condemned the abuse of footballers in England, pledging repression against social media companies that do not eliminate such abuse on their platforms and sanctions on those found guilty. “I was horrified by the ugly abuse that was meted out to many of our footballers after Sunday’s match,” he said.
“We are also working closely with football authorities and the police to ensure that we can prosecute and take action against online attackers, and we will ban them from football fields just as we do on the streets for these crimes.” Prime Minister added.
Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen also condemned the racial abuse directed at the England players after the Euro 2020 final. He questioned the audience n his tweet, “This behavior in 2021?? The abuse of the players who gave us so much joy? Do we actually deserve the 2030 World Cup?”