Nigeria international Alex Iwobi and William Troost-Ekong have joined the conversation on the racist abuse that certain England internationals have faced since the Three Lions were defeated in Sunday’s European Championship final.
Racism in football was once again present in the aftermath of England’s Euro 2020 final defeat, with Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho coming in for abuse after missing their penalties in the penalty shootout defeat by Italy.
Iwobi, posting on his Instagram story, shared a black-and-white image of the three players, each wearing crowns, as a sign of his support for the trio.
Troost-Ekong, adding his voice to the discussion on racism in football, shared a powerful post from @ukisntinnocent, with a message that reads ‘British when they win. Immigrants when they lose’.
Racism in football: England FA condemn racist abuse
In the aftermath of the final, the English Football Association condemned the racism abuse on social media aimed at the three players, with the FA describing as ‘disgusting’ the messages sent to the players.
We could not be clearer that anyone behind such disgusting behaviour is not welcome in following the team,” said the FA in a statement. “We will do all we can to support the players affected while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible.
“We will continue to do everything we can to stamp discrimination out of the game, but we implore the government to act quickly and bring in the appropriate legislation so this abuse has real-life consequences.
“Social media companies need to step up and take accountability and action to ban abusers from their platforms, gather evidence that can lead to prosecution and support making their platforms free from this type of abhorrent abuse.”
Racism in football: Iwobi’s own experience
Iwobi has himself been the victim of racist abuse during his career, not least in 2019 when he was abused by Bollywood actress Esha Gupta on Whatsapp.
In that instance, Gupta sent personal letters of apology to both Iwobi and Arsenal, although this was another instance that highlighted the presence of racism in football.
Ongoing tensions between England defender Tyrone Mings and the country’s Home Secretary Priti Patel regarding the players’ decision to take the knee in protest against racial inequality before matches were again fuelled on Monday.
The Aston Villa man accused the politician of ‘stoking the fire’ after she previously described taking the knee as ‘gesture politics’, then to express her disgust at the abuse received by Saka, Sancho, and Rashford in the aftermath of Sunday’s defeat.
Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford has apologized for missing a penalty in the Euro 2020 final shootout but says he “will never apologize for who I am” after receiving online racist abuse.
Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Bukayo Saka’s social media pages were flooded with racist comments after their penalty shootout misses, leading the FA to release a statement condemning the “disgusting behaviour”.
Rashford praised the England squad for building such a strong bond during the tournament, as they became the first England team to reach a major final since the 1966 World Cup winners.
Also, heartfelt message of support to three England players, Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, and Jadon Sancho, after they were subjected to racist abuses following the Three Lions’ Euro 2020 final defeat against Italy on Sunday night.
Saka, Rashford, and Sancho, who came on as substitutes during England’s defeat to Italy, lost their spot-kicks against Roberto Mancini’s side at Wembley Stadium.
England lost 3-2 on penalties against Italy after the game ended 1-1 after 120 minutes.
Immediately after the game, Saka, Rashford and Sancho were racially targeted on social media.
Reacting, Pogba, in a post via his Instagram account on Monday, said, “I am proud of you. You win some, you lose some.
“You took the courage to take the penalties and you showed your worth to help your country reach the final.
“We cannot tolerate or stand for racism anymore and we will never stop combating it.
“You boys should hold your heads high and be proud of your confidence.
“You are an example of this beautiful game. Never forget that. Be proud of yourselves, the world of football is proud of you!”
This is the time for the World Football governing body to rise and tackle this which has eaten deep in football.
