LONDON: Black players in the England team have been subjected to a storm of online racist abuse after their defeat in the final of Euro 2020, drawing wide condemnation from the squad’s manager Gareth Southgate along with royalty and politicians.

Marcus Rashford, 23, Jadon Sancho, 21, and Bukayo Saka, 19, were the targets of the abuse after they missed spot-kicks in a penalty shootout with Italy which settled Sunday’s final after the game finished as a 1-1 draw.

The comments have prompted a police investigation and wide condemnation, although critics accused some ministers of hypocrisy for refusing to support a high-profile anti-racist stance the players had made during the tournament.

“For some of them to be abused is unforgivable,” Southgate told a news conference. “Some of it has come from abroad, we have been told this, but some of it is from this country.”

The England team have earned praise for their stand against racism, while a number of players have also campaigned on other social causes. The multi-racial make-up of the squad had been hailed as reflecting a more diverse modern Britain.

The team had highlighted the issue of racism by taking the knee before all their matches — a protest made by American footballer Colin Kaepernick and followed by the Black Lives Matter movement last year — saying it was a simple show of solidarity against racial discrimination.

However, some fans have booed the gesture, with critics viewing it as a politicisation of sport and expression of sympathy with far-left politics.

Some ministers have been accused of hypocrisy for refusing to criticise those who booed and using it as part of a wider “culture war”, often portrayed as a rift between those wanting to protect Britain’s heritage from a “woke” youth, who see their elders as blocking moves to end racial and social injustice.

“This England team deserve to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Twitter. “Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.”

While Johnson himself said the team should not be booed, his own spokesman had initially declined to criticise the fans over the issue when asked last month.

Interior minister Priti Patel had also said she did not support players taking the knee because it was “gesture politics” and that it was a choice for the fans whether to boo players. On Monday, she joined those who denounced the abuse.

The opposition Labour Party said Johnson and Patel were guilty of hypocrisy.

“Leaders’ actions and leaders’ words and leaders inactions have consequences,” Labour leader Keir Starmer said. “The prime minister failed to call out the booing so whatever he says today rings hollow.”

Gary Neville, a former Manchester United player and now a TV commentator, said he wasn’t surprised that the three players who missed their penalties were targeted for racist abuse and also called out Johnson.

“The prime minister said it was OK for the population of this country to boo those players who are trying to promote equality and defend against racism,” he said on Sky News. “It starts at the very top and so for me I wasn’t surprised in the slightest that I woke up this morning to those headlines.”

While the social media feeds of the players also showed huge levels of support and gratitude from fans for the tournament, the abuse overshadowed the positive messages.

The Football Association said fans who exhibited such “disgusting behaviour” were not welcome and urged the authorities to hand out “the toughest punishments possible”.

European football’s governing body UEFA said it “strongly condemns the disgusting racist abuse” and that “we stand by the players and the English FA’s call for the strongest possible punishments”.

Prince William, the FA’s president who attended the final with his wife Kate and son George, said he was “sickened” by the abuse.

“It is totally unacceptable that players have to endure this abhorrent behaviour,” Queen Elizabeth’s grandson said on Twitter. “It must stop now and all those involved should be held accountable.”

London Police said officers were aware of the offensive and racist comments, and would take action. A mural of Rashford, who had campaigned for poor children to be given more support during the pandemic, was also covered in abuse.

The issue of online abuse of players led to British football authorities briefly boycotting social media platforms prior to the tournament.

A Twitter spokesperson said they had removed more than 1,000 tweets and permanently suspended a number of accounts, saying the “abhorrent racist abuse” had no place on the platform.

Facebook, which owns Instagram, said Monday it tries to remove harmful content as quickly as possible and encouraged people to use the tools it offers to block abuse.

“We quickly removed comments and accounts directing abuse at England’s footballers last night and well continue to take action against those that break our rules,” it said in a statement.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2021