The final of the EURO 2020 saw hosts England face defeat at the hands of Italy at Wembley on July 11 in the penalty shootouts. Soon after the clash, England footballers Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, and Bukayo Saka- were faced with racial abuses.
The Black players had missed penalty kicks which lead to Italy winning against England by 3-2 on penalties after the game finished at 1-1. Former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh expressed his disappointment after the three England players faced such hate.
He took to Twitter and wrote, "I've gone thru my ups & downs in sport. But as a team, u win & lose together! Unfortunately, Eng lost, Italy was a better team on the day. Sad to hear wat @MarcusRashford @BukayoSaka87 @Sanchooo10 have to go thru! V stand by u lads! Don’t forget that sport is meant to unite & not hate!"
I’ve gone thru my ups & downs in sport. But as a team,u win & lose together!Unfortunately Eng lost,Italy was a better team on the day.Sad to hear wat @MarcusRashford @BukayoSaka87 @Sanchooo10 have to go thru! V stand by u lads!Don’t forget that sport is meant to unite & not hate!
— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) July 12, 2021
After the chaos on social media, the English Football Association (FA) released a statement and stated that it was "appalled" by the actions of the netizens on social media.
"We will do all we can to support the players affected while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible," the FA statement read.
"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," the statement added.