Three Black players who missed penalty kicks for England in the decisive European Championship shootout against Italy were subjected to racist abuse online, prompting the English Football Association to issue a statement condemning the language used against the players.
Bukayo Saka, at 19 one of the youngest players on the England squad, missed the penalty that gave the title to Italy and denied England its first international trophy since the 1966 World Cup.
It was England's third straight failure from the penalty spot in the shootout, with Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho also missing.
The FA said in a statement it was "appalled" by the abuse of the three players. The team had taken a knee before games at the Euros to signal its support for an end to racial inequality, and the young, multi-ethnic squad won the hearts of the soccer-mad country before the shootout failure brought out all-too-familiar messages of hate.
"We will do all we can to support the players affected while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible," the FA statement said.
While trolls kept hurling racist abuses at the footballers, fans across the globe came together to defend the footballers and call out those who resorted to racism.
Here's what people are saying. Have a look.
With inputs from PTI.
