Boris Johnson condemns racial abuse against England players after Euro 2020 loss

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has expressed his disappointment over reports of some English players being racially abused after their loss against Italy in the Euro 2020 final. Johnson took to social media to laud the England football team players as "heroes" and said they do not deserve to be racially abused. "Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves," Johnson wrote on Twitter. The alleged racial abuse was directed at three Black English players who failed to score penalties during the final shootout. 

Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, and Jadon Sancho all missed their penalties as Italian keeper G Donnarumma prevented their kicks from crossing the goal line. Italy won the shootout 3-2 to lift its second European Championship title. After the match ended, all three players started receiving racially charged messages on social media. The England Football Association (FA) issued a statement saying it was "appalled" by the "disgusting behavior" of some fans on social media. 

London police launch investigation

London police have also launched an investigation into the matter after condemning the racial abuse against players. London Mayor Sadiq Khan also took to social media to call out the offenders and urged social media companies to hold them to account. "There is absolutely no place for racism in football or anywhere else. Those responsible for the disgusting online abuse we have seen must be held accountable - and social media companies need to act immediately to remove and prevent this hate," he wrote on Twitter.  

The match had advanced into penalty shootouts after both sides failed to take a lead following 120 minutes of play.  Luke Shaw had scored in the second minute to give England an early lead in the encounter. For the first half of the game, England's players managed to keep Italy at bay until Leonardo Bonucci equalized in the 67th minute. For the remainder of the game, both teams attempted to take the lead but were unable to put the ball inside the goal post. 

(Image Credit: Euro2020/Twitter/AP)