Source: Lewis Hamilton’s Twitter
In the Euro 2020 final England lost to Italy in a penalty shootout. After the game the players who didn’t manage to score became targets of racist abuse.
England men’s football team players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka failed to score during the penalty shootout, and were immediately subjected to tremendous racist abuse on social media.
Lewis Hamilton immediately came to their defense.
“The racial abuse on social media towards our players after yesterday’s game is unacceptable,” the Briton wrote on his social media account.
“This sort of ignorance has to be stopped. Tolerance and respect for players of colour should not be conditional. Our humanity should not be conditional.
“Please call out those you see posting hatred online. Challenge them to see the humanity in everyone regardless of colour.
“Super proud of Saka, Sancho, Rashford and the entire team.”
“So much was running through my mind as a watched the final moments of the match last night.
“On one hand I was so proud of how far we have come …to be in the final and with such a diverse team is a huge achievement we should all be proud of but as the players stepped up to take the penalties I was worried.
“The pressure to deliver is felt by every sportsperson, but when you are a minority representing your country this is a layered experience.
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“Success would feel like a double victory, but a miss feels like a two-fold failure when its compounded with racist abuse.
“I so badly wanted that win like all of you but for me it was for much more than winning the euros, it was a much bigger picture.
“However, the disgusting behaviour by the few, shows how much work that still needs to be done.
“I hope that this opens a conversation around acceptance. We must work towards a society that doesn’t require Black players to prove their value or place in society only through victory.
“Ultimately everyone on the England team should be so proud of their achievement and how they represented us,” concluded the Briton.
The racist abuse was also condemned by the Mercedes team.
“We stand with the FA and England,” the team wrote in a statement.
“Racism and discrimination have no place in sport or our society.
“Over the past year we have seen the power of sport as a force for good and we will continue to work to build a more diverse and inclusive sport in the future.”
