Petition for racists to be banned from football for life gains more than 1,000,000 signatures

A petition calling for those who racially abuse players to be handed lifelong bans from all football matches has surpassed 1,000,000 signatures.

The Change.org petition was set up just two days ago in the aftermath of the Euro 2020 final, which saw England be defeated by Italy 3-2 in the penalty shootouts.

Footballers Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho each missed their penalties and, as a result, were all sent vile racial slurs and monkey emojis on social media by internet trolls immediately after the match.

Following the shocking abuse, there was an immediate uproar across the whole country and calls for the government to take stricter action on racist trolls intensified. 

Boris Johnson told racists to ‘crawl back under their rock’ in a speech on Monday – though he is yet to take any official action.

But now, more than one million people have put pressure on the Government and the game’s governing body to introduce lifetime football bans for anyone who targets a player offline or online.

Under the current law, the maximum football banning order is just ten years – and this can only be issued for a maximum of five unless the offence it relates to carries an immediate custodial sentence. Clubs themselves can choose to issue lifetime bans by adding fans to box office blacklists and denying them access to grounds – however, this isn’t currently enforced by the courts or police.

The petition, titled ‘Ban racists for life from all football matches in England’, calls upon the Football Association and the government to work together to ban all those who have carried out racist abuse, online or offline, from all football matches across the country for life. 

The petition’s description reads: “We could not be more proud or inspired by our magnificent team and by their talent, bravery, leadership and love for all.

“Gareth Southgate’s England team plays for ALL of us. Their vision is an inclusive vision and this matters more than EVER – it’s why we feel proud of this team and why they’re so cherished and loved by many of us.

“There should be no room for racists and bigotry in football or society. Our England team stood up for all of us – now we must stand up for them.”

At the time of writing, the petition has garnered a staggering 1,009,403 signatures – a milestone from the 100,000 needed for the issue to be debated in parliament. 

For more information and to sign the petition yourself, visit the Change.org site here.