Prejudice on the pitch

The racist abuse experienced by some of England’s black footballers after the team’s defeat in the Euro 2020 championship final in July thrust the issue of racism in the sport back into the spotlight. MATTHEW TAYLOR charts the causes and consequences of more than a century of discrimination

- MATTHEW TAYLOR

England’s football dream may have been dashed when the team was narrowly defeated by Italy in the Uefa European Championship final at Wembley in July, but the most concerning outcome of the match was the racist abuse directed at the three young black players – Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka – who missed England’s penalties. A barrage of racist comments were posted on social media, a mural dedicated to Rashford in Manchester was vandalised, and several youth players at Portsmouth FC were sacked for sharing discriminatory comments about the trio in a private group chat.

The response of the England players – who, in “taking the knee” before each match, had demonstrated a willingness to challenge such racism – was typically forceful. Rashford tweeted that he was sorry for missing the penalty but would “never apologise for who I am and where I came from”. And, as Sancho pointed out, the abuse directed at him and his black teammates was “nothing new”.