LONDON (AP) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday condemned racist insults directed at three black England soccer players who missed penalties in the decisive shoot-out of the European Championship final, which Italy won on Sunday. in the evening.
Johnson tweeted that “those responsible for these regrettable insults should be ashamed of themselves.”
Marcus Rashford’s penalty hit the post, while Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho’s shots were stopped by the Italian goalkeeper. Italy won the penalty shoot-out 3-2 after the match ended 1-1 after extra time.
Saka, 19, missed the decisive penalty that gave Italy the title and denied Italy its first major international soccer tournament since the 1966 World Cup.
All three players immediately began receiving racist insults on social media.
The English Football Association issued a statement saying it was “shocked” by the “disgusting behavior”.
The London police, for their part, condemned the “unacceptable” insults and said they would investigate “offensive and racist” posts on the internet.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan called on social media platforms to do more to hold those responsible accountable.
“There is absolutely no place for racism, not in football or anywhere else,” he wrote on Twitter. “Those responsible for the disgusting online insults we have seen must be held accountable, and social media companies must act immediately to eliminate and prevent this hatred.”
Racist insults against players had already been reported during the tournament.
Following a complaint from various anti-racist groups, the Paris prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into a series of racist tweets after France lost on penalties to Switzerland in the round of 16.
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