Home Secretary Priti Patel has been accused of ‘stoking the fire’ by England defender Tyrone Mings following her statement on the racist abuse targeted at England players.
After England’s devastating defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday night, certain players were subject to vile racist abuse online – Marcus Rashford’s mural in Withington was even vandalised in the hour following the loss.
Following the abuse, however, attention was swiftly turned to Home Secretary Priti Patel, who famously slammed players for taking the knee before matches and described Black Lives Matter protests as ‘dreadful.’
Patel issued a tweet slamming those who racially abused the players, writing: “I am disgusted that @England players who have given so much for our country this summer have been subject to vile racist abuse on social media. It has no place in our country and I back the police to hold those responsible accountable.”
However, her attempt at solidarity with the team went down like a lead balloon – social media users were quick to reply and point out her questionable history on the subject, with comedy writer James Felton quipping: “Maybe next time don’t say it’s cool for people to boo people attempting to challenge racism or they might get the message that racism is fine.”
And last night, England defender Tyrone Mings waded into the equation by accusing Patel of ‘stoking the fire’ of racism in this country.
He wrote: “You don’t get to stoke the fire at the beginning of the tournament by labelling our anti-racism message as ‘Gesture Politics’ & then pretend to be disgusted when the very thing we’re campaigning against, happens.”
In a separate tweet, the England player added: “Waking up today and seeing my brothers being racially abused for being brave enough to put themselves in a position to help this country, is something that sickens, but doesn’t surprise me.”
In a post also published yesterday, England captain Harry Kane made clear that those who sent abuse to players would not be welcome to support the team, writing on Twitter: “Three lads who were brilliant all summer had the courage to step up and take a pen when the stakes were high.
“They deserve support and backing not the vile racist abuse they’ve had since last night. If you abuse anyone on social media you’re not an England fan and we don’t want you.”