Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has opened up on the racism English players faced after the Euro 2020 final.
The Three Lions enjoyed an extremely productive tournament, reaching the final of the competition for the first time in their history after defeating the likes of Germany and Denmark before facing Italy in the final.
The Azzurri eventually defeated Gareth Southgate's side on penalties, with Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho all failing to convert their spot-kicks before the young trio faced a number of racist comments from so-called fans.
Now, Henry has spoken up on what needs to be done to eradicate such vile abuse from football as well as revealing what he texted Arsenal star Saka after the match.
"Whatever problem you have in society, at times you will see it also in the game," the Frenchman told GQ.
"What did I feel? I knew it was going to happen because it was the trend. It is just something that now, oh, let's do that.
"So when those guys miss the penalties, I was like, watch how they're going to get abused. And they did get abused. I felt sorry for them... it could have been me.
"And it was me. And it has been me. And it has been others. And it has been in the past. And it’s still going on.
"I know Bukayo, so I dropped him a line to tell him that actually for me, you going to present yourself to take that penalty, you are a hero.
"I didn't [care] actually, him scoring or not scoring. Even the courage to go in there, to go and take the penalty at his age, for me he's a hero."
