England’s Football Association said they have strongly condemned all forms of discrimination and are appalled by the online racism that has been aimed at some of England players on social media.
“We could not be clearer that anyone behind such disgusting behaviour is not welcome in following the team,” read the statement.
The statement comes at a time three Black players Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho are still facing racist abuse online after England suffered a 3-2 loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 cup on penalties.
The Football Association added that social media companies should take action to make their platforms free from this “abhorrent” abuse.
“We will do all we can to support the players affected while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible,” the FA said.
“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.”
Reacting to the FA’s statement, a Twitter spokesperson said the micro-blogging site had removed more than 1,000 tweets and permanently suspended a number of accounts over racist abuse directed at England football players.
Meanwhile, the British police have opened investigations into the racist abuse of three Black players.
The Metropolitan Police on Monday condemned the “unacceptable” abuse and said they will be investigating the “offensive and racist” social media posts.
Coach Gareth Southgate described the abuse directed at the players as “unforgivable.”
“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 and so that togetherness has to continue,” Southgate said.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan called on social media companies to do more to hold offenders to account.
“There is absolutely no place for racism in football or anywhere else,” he wrote in a Twitter post.
“Those responsible for the disgusting online abuse we have seen must be held accountable – and social media companies need to act immediately to remove and prevent this hate,” he adds.
“Last night we witnessed the leadership and character we’ve always known and loved in Bukayo. However, this feeling of pride quickly turned to sorrow at the racist comments our young player was subjected to on his social media platforms after the final whistle. Once again, we are sad to have to say we condemn the racism of a number of black players. This cannot continue and the social media platforms and authorities must act to ensure this disgusting abuse to which our players are subjected on a daily basis stops now,” read a statement by Arsenal club.
