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England captain Harry Kane ‘sickened’ by racist abuse of teammates as he breaks silence
‘Three lads who were brilliant all summer had the courage to step up and take a pen when the stakes were high’
England captain Harry Kane has issued a damning statement regarding the torrents of racist abuse aimed at players following their loss to Italy on Sunday night.
After drawing 1-1 during the match and extra time, the Euros finalists took part in a tense penalty shootout, which eventually saw Italy come out as champions after beating England 3-2. It was a painstakingly close call so, of course, the nation was overwhelmingly disappointed for England to lose out on winning their first major tournament since 1966.
However, as is sadly the case all too often these days, certain players were also subject to torrents of horrendous abuse – Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka all missed their penalties during the shootout and as a result, were flooded with abuse and vile racist remarks by internet trolls.
The mural of Marcus Rashford in Withington was also vandalised in the hour following England’s defeat, though it has since been adorned with flowers, flags and messages of love and support.
And last night, England’s captain Harry Kane broke his silence with a statement condemning all those who targeted the racially motivated abuse at his players.
Posting on Twitter, his statement began: “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.”
Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford also broke his silence last night, noting that he was ‘positively overwhelmed’ by the response by fans, and that the messages of support on the mural in Withington had him ‘on the verge of tears.’
He said: “I can critique my performance all day long, my penalty was not good enough, it should have gone in but I will never apologise for who I am and where I came from.
“I’m Marcus Rashford, 23 year old black man from Withington and Wythenshawe, South Manchester. If I have nothing else I have that.”
Following the horrific online response to England’s loss, social media companies have been called to implement tougher security measures to prevent people being able to hide behind anonymous accounts as they make racist and hurtful comments.