After heartbreaking defeat, England's soccer players face racist outburst

England wrapped its arms around its national soccer team the morning after its history-making run ended in heartbreaking defeat. But an ugly eruption of racist gibes against some of its young Black players was a reminder that not everyone glories in the diverse portrait of the country that this team reflects.
 

London’s Metropolitan Police said that they would investigate “offensive and racist social media comments being directed towards footballers,” following the game, which England lost to Italy after three players — Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka — missed penalty kicks.
 

The three players, who are Black, are among the youngest members of a youthful team that had captured the national imagination over the last four weeks as it swept into the final game of the European soccer championship, England’s first crack at victory in a major tournament in 55 years.

The racist attacks, the likes of which have plagued European soccer for years, drew immediate condemnation from leaders including Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prince William, Queen Elizabeth’s grandson, who is president of England’s Football Association. British police made 49 arrests and said 19 of its officers were injured after confronting volatile crowds near Wembley Stadium while policing the Euro 2020 final between Italy and England on Sunday.

Ed Wellard, who co-founded Withington Walls, tapes bin liners across offensive wording on the mural of Marcus Rashford

Fans clashed with each other and officials, breached security cordons and cha­rg­ed into the perimeter area of We­mbley before the start of the match.
 

“This England team deserve to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media,” Johnson declared on Twitter. “Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.”
 

Others called on Twitter and Instagram to crack down on the use of their platforms to traffic in racist language and tropes.