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England fans send messages of love and support to Rashford, Sancho and Saka after torrents of racist abuse
Our players don’t deserve this
Fans have rallied together to send messages of love and support to the England players inundated with racist abuse following their defeat to Italy in the Euros 2020 final last night.
After drawing 1-1 during the match and extra time, the Euros finalists took part in a tense penalty shootout, which eventually saw Italy come out as champions after beating England 3-2.
It was a painstakingly close call so, of course, the nation was overwhelmingly disappointed for England to lose out on winning their first major tournament since 1966.
However, as is sadly the case all too often these days, certain players were also subject to torrents of horrendous abuse.
Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka all missed their penalties during the shootout and as a result, were flooded with abuse and vile racist remarks by internet trolls. The mural of Marcus Rashford in Withington was also vandalised in the hour following England’s defeat.
However, the racist messages and remarks have been drowned out by messages of love and support from thousand of supportive England fans online.
One fan wrote on Twitter: “We got further than expected, appreciate these people. Put yourself in their shoes, their dreams have just been taken away from them. Well done England, you made your nation proud. Every single one of you!”
Another social media user summarised: “Marcus Rashford; 23, raised £200m to feed kids last year. Jadon Sancho; 21, opened up new football pitches in London suburbs. Bukayo Saka; 19, a voice for the youth of football today & helping local communities. We are so proud of you.”
Tennis legend Andy Murray also waded into the debate, writing: “All of those players deserve and need the support of the public after that. All seem like brilliant guys. Nothing can prepare you for that level of pressure/attention/criticism at 19/20 years old. Respect.”
The FA has since condemned the racist abuse, and the Metropolitan Police has announced that it is launching an investigation into those who made such vile remarks.