By David Wyngard
Image from iStock - Adam Hickey
With the Euro 2020 final in the rear view mirror, the dust still has not really settled following the heartbreak of England losing their first international final since the infamous 66’ World Cup triumph, with a 1-1 draw leading to a loss on penalties to Italy for the Three Lions.
The atmosphere in the country throughout the tournament had been electric, with Southgate’s men inspiring hope by rampaging through the group stages, disposing of the Germans, and surviving a scare from the fan favourites in Denmark all to make this historic final. I had never seen such optimism and genuine belief in the national side in my lifetime, coming off the back of a World Cup run in 2018 that defied expectations, with England making it to the Semi Finals. This year seemed like the stars would align. People in pubs celebrating emphatically (as socially distanced as possible of course), as England accelerated towards a meeting with the well regimented and efficient Italians.
However, this national unity and pride was soon undermined by horrendous racism and hatred particularly targeted at Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka following their misses in the penalty shootout, a harrowing sign of the attitudes of a nation that one minute are arm in arm, and the next at each other’s throats. And the horrifying thing is that it was almost expected that this level of racial abuse and hatred would occur.
These sentiments spread like wildfire over social media, with the black players in the England squad having their social media profiles bombarded with racial abuse, with the most prominent act being the desecration of Manchester United forward’s mural in Withington. This mural was created to celebrate the changes that Rashford has brought in his attempts to feed the children that desperately need help, and on the eve of the final was disgustingly violated with racial abuse.
This night I was appalled to be an England Fan.
Instead of celebrating an incredible run in the tournament and looking fondly on a golden generation of talent in the England squad, we were focusing on attacks on black football players and supporters, with London being host to violent attacks following the conclusion of the match.
The next day during the hangover of the whole affair, Rashford’s mural was host to swarms of positive messages and flowers that covered the disgusting abuse that had been etched onto it the night before. A beacon of light in the darkness of hatred and showing that no matter the circumstances, we will not let discrimination tear us apart. Young children wrote tear jerking messages of support for the young men who fearlessly stepped up to take the most important shots of their country’s recent history, showing the compassion that the future generation has for their heroes.
Rashford posted the day after on social media, showcasing some of the heart-warming support he received and reiterating that whilst his displays on the pitch had rights for critique, attacks on his identity are unacceptable, and that he will never ‘apologise for who I am and where I came from’ and that ‘the messages I’ve received today have been positively overwhelming and seeing the response in Withington had me on the verge of tears.’
Following this, attention has been turned towards the giants of social media and how they can prevent these abusive comments and posts, with some suggesting ID verification to use social media accounts or removing certain emojis that have problematic uses regarding racial abuse. Whatever the outcome is in the end, it is important that we as a multi-cultural society are asking these questions on how to better ourselves and how to defeat hatred. Whilst a very vocal minority will focus on those three penalty kicks, the rest of us will focus on an occasion that brought joy to an entire nation for those few weeks the tournament was on and will wait excitedly for the World Cup next year, hopefully with Southgate’s men finally bringing football home.
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