Prince William and Boris Johnson have condemned the “sickening” racist abuse of England players on social media after their Euro 2020 final defeat.
The Duke of Cambridge, who is President of the Football Association, said players should not have to experience this “abhorrent behaviour”, while the prime minister said the team deserve to be hailed as “heroes”.
Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka – who all missed penalties during England’s shoot-out defeat to Italy – were targeted by online trolls following the match.
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The Football Association issued a statement saying it is “appalled” by the abuse, while the Metropolitan Police has vowed to investigate.
The London police force made 49 arrests on Sunday for “a variety of offences” and confirmed investigations are ongoing into fans’ behaviour.
The duke, who watched the match at Wembley with Prince George and the Duchess of Cambridge, visited the England dressing room after their defeat.
In a tweet, Prince William wrote: “I am sickened by the racist abuse aimed at England players after last night’s match.
“It is totally unacceptable that players have to endure this abhorrent behaviour.
“It must stop now and all those involved should be held accountable."
Mr Johnson tweeted: “This England team deserve to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media. Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.”
Home secretary Priti Patel also said she was “disgusted” by the “vile” racist abuse players were subjected to, while culture secretary Oliver Dowden tweeted that he “shared the anger” of the “appalling racist abuse” towards the “heroic” players.
Following the abuse towards players on Sunday, an FA spokesman said: “The FA strongly condemns all forms of discrimination and is appalled by the online racism that has been aimed at some of our England players on social media.
“We could not be clearer that anyone behind such disgusting behaviour is not welcome in following the team. We will do all we can to support the players affected while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible.
“We will continue to do everything we can to stamp discrimination out of the game, but we implore Government to act quickly and bring in the appropriate legislation so this abuse has real life consequences.
“Social media companies need to step up and take accountability and action to ban abusers from their platforms, gather evidence that can lead to prosecution and support making their platforms free from this type of abhorrent abuse.”
Both the prime minister and Ms Patel have previously described the action of footballers taking the knee to highlight racial inequality and discrimination as “gestures”.
In a briefing last month, Mr Johnson’s official spokesman said: “On taking the knee, specifically, the PM is more focused on action rather than gestures… but he fully respects the right of those who do choose to peacefully protest to make their feelings known.”
Three days later, however, in a different briefing, when asked if Mr Johnson backs players taking the knee, a Number 10 spokesman said: “Yes. The PM respects the right of all people to peacefully protest and make their feelings known about injustices."
