Boris Johnson today condemned "appalling" racist abuse some England players suffered last night after their Euro 2020 defeat to Italy.
The Prime Minister said the players deserve to be hailed as heroes and not subjected to hate online.
He also added that those who sent abuse should be “ashamed of themselves”.
Previously, Mr Johnson's spokesman had refused to condemn those who had booed the players for taking the knee, saying he was "more focused on action rather than gestures."
He later said people should "cheer and not boo."
Home Secretary Priti Patel said people "had the right" to boo the players' anti-racism gesture, while Tory MP Lee Anderson said he would not watch England games while the players took the knee.
Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka were all subject to disgusting messages on their social media pages after they missed penalties in last night's shoot-out.
Today Mr Johnson tweeted: “This England team deserves to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media. Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.”
The Metropolitan Police also condemned the “unacceptable” abuse, adding that they will be investigating the “offensive and racist” social media posts.
They said in a statement on Twitter: “We are aware of a number of offensive and racist social media comments being directed towards footballers following the #Euro2020 final."
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