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Bukayo Saka became the first player since Steven Gerrard to meet for the English men’s team on his birthday in May 2006
The English football team met Andorra in a World Cup qualifier at Wembley Stadium last night.
It was the first time they’d played at Wembley Stadium since the Euro 2020 final – which was overshadowed by racial slurs against three of England’s black players.
Among those abused was Bakayo Saka, who turned 20 last night.
But last week, during their game in Hungary last week, England’s players were again racially abused by sections of the audience.
This was the latest episode of racism in football – something that has long been a problem in sport. How do young fans feel about it? De-Graft went to speak to a few.
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“Everyone has to help stop racism”
Many of England’s young black players were the stars of Euro 2020 when the team made it to the final – the longest they have had in a tournament in more than 50 years.
But when they lost the final to Italy on penalties, some of the players including Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho were all targeted online and on social media after missing penalties in the crucial shootout.
De-Graft spoke to young people in Manchester – not far from where Marcus Rashford’s mural was defaced.
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They told us that they do not see racism related to football positively and think that despite investigations into the perpetrators, racism would show its face again.
“I would like to see the end of it,” said one. “But I just don’t think it will.”
They also felt that it was up to many different parts of the community to prevent this from happening. They suggested that teachers and parents play a role, as do social media companies in how they handle the accounts of people who commit racist abuse.
Everyone felt that there must be consequences for those who racially abuse others in real life and online.
Personally, I just think it’s up to the whole of Britain as a whole … Teach your kids so it won’t take longer
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England players speak out against those who “take a knee”
While racist abuse is unfortunately not new in football, racism and the English men’s team has become a big talking point.
For many years, England’s black players have suffered from supporters of other teams, but also from English fans themselves, with players being targeted in the stadiums and online.
In 2020, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement became known worldwide after George Floyd was killed by a police officer in the US and many footballers in the UK and Europe began to kneel before the games.
The team has said time and again that kneeling for them is showing solidarity for campaigning against racism and supporting calls for equality for blacks in the UK and around the world.
But its association with the Black Lives Matter movement has sparked some controversy as well It has resulted in some fans in the stadiums booing the players as they take the knee. Many people – including players in the game – have accused these fans of being racist.
Some fans, unhappy with players kneeling, say booing is not racist, but kneeling is too political and distracts attention from sport and football.
Read more about Viv Anderson: England’s first black player
“Nothing has changed in 20 years” for black football coaches
Euro 2020
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After England’s penalty loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final in July, racism again dominated the headlines as Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho were all targeted on social media.
After the three blacks missed their penalties in the final shootout, they received thousands of racist messages online.
A mural by Rashford in his hometown of Withington, Manchester, was also destroyed.
England coach Gareth Southgate and Prime Minister Boris Johnson both spoke out and condemned the abuse, but England player Tyrone Mings accused Government Secretary Priti Patel of not giving the players enough support after some fans booed on their decision to kneel before the games .
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Children support Rashford, Saka and Sancho
Saka has attacked social media companies like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for not doing more to protect people from racial abuse.
“I don’t want children or adults to receive the hateful and hurtful messages that I, Marcus and Jadon received this week,” he said.
“I knew right away what kind of hatred I was going to receive, and it’s a sad reality that your powerful platforms are not doing enough to stop this news.”
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England’s players were racially insulted online after Italy won the European Championship final
After the Euro 2020 final, social media companies were asked to ban anonymity on their platforms.
Social media company Twitter said it was unlikely that ID verification would have prevented the abuse, given that 99% of account owners are identifiable. According to an investigation, 11 people were arrested in the UK for online racism.
In July, the government announced that it would ban people who abuse footballers online from the stadium for up to ten years. Boris Johnson also revealed plans to punish social media companies for failing to stop racist behavior on their platforms.
Budapest
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Trophies and other missiles were thrown at Raheem Sterling when he scored against Hungary and the players were booed again for hitting the knee
In their first game since Euro 2020, England’s black players were racially abused by parts of the audience during a game against Hungary.
As part of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, England played against Hungary in Budapest.
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Fifa has launched an investigation into racial abuse against the English players during the game against Hungary.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged Fifa “to crack down on those responsible to ensure that this type of shameful behavior is finally removed from the game”.
