The days succeeding a major sporting event are usually filled with celebration. However, the aftermath of the Euro 2020 tournament was far more unpleasant.
Throughout the tournament, England’s success had its fans repeatedly using the phrase “It’s coming home.” And when they reached the finals of the tournament, it seemed as though their dream would become a reality. A victory in the tournament’s final against Italy would give England their first major international championship since the World Cup in 1966. It’s safe to say that fans were pretty invested.
After a tight match, Italy and England were heading to a penalty shootout – this was the first time since 1976 that a Euro final would be decided on penalties.
This is how it went:
1. Italy – Score 1. England – Score
2. Italy – Miss 2. England – Score
3. Italy – Score 3. England – Miss
4. Italy – Score 4. England – Miss
5. Italy – Miss 5. England – Miss
With a score of 3-2 in penalties, Italy triumphed over England and became the victors of the 2020 European Championship. This was a devastating outcome for England and their fans, but some of these fans had an unacceptable reaction.
England scored both of their first two penalty shots, but missed their last three. Just one more goal would have kept them alive. For them, this was unfortunate – but it should also have been the end of the story.
However, it just so happened that the last three penalty shooters for England were Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Bukayo Saka, all of whom are black. These athletes have served as great role models not only for black soccer players, but many soccer players on a wide scale. After performing well throughout the tournament to help their team reach the finals, they had the honour of taking the last three penalties for England. Rashford’s luck had seemed to run out, as he was able to beat the goalie but not the iron. When his shot hit the post, it was up to Sancho and 19-year-old Saka to ‘bring it home’. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get past Gianluigi Donnarumma, the Italian goalkeeper who eventually won ‘Player of the Tournament’. As Italy celebrated their victory, the English footballers headed off with their silver medals in hand. While many of their supporters saw this as still a great accomplishment, some took an utterly abhorrent approach.
In the days following the finals of Euro 2020, the three players received a significant amount of racist abuse. While it is understandable to be upset with a certain result, it is completely intolerable to make hateful comments based on the colour of someone’s skin.
These occurrences were atrocious, but every cloud has a silver lining. In the past few days, the entire sports world and beyond have condemned the racist behaviour of fans. By doing this, they did more than shed light on a serious issue – they encouraged positive changes by serving as role models in our society. They also softened the blow for the victims of this appalling abuse. Several figures such as David Beckham, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Tom Holland have reinforced that the three English soccer players deserve nothing but respect following their efforts.
This instance is just one example of racism in our society. It is imperative that we continue making positive impacts to make our world a better place.
Note: The European Championship was set to take place in 2020, but was postponed due to COVID-19. As a result, it is still referred to as Euro 2020, rather than Euro 2021.
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