UK’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced today that the Government is changing the football banning order regime to cover online racism.
The announcement came after Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer thanked the English national team for the incredible run in the EURO 2020. However, Sir Keir had also previously clashed with the PM about his stance over the team “taking the knee” before matches.
Nevertheless, UK’s Prime Minister said that the young lads represent the very best of the country and that he wants to thank each and every one of them for their incredible campaign during Euro 2020. He later added that he condemns the racist outpourings that happened on Sunday night, following England’s loss to Italy in the Euro final.
However, this is not the first time Boris Johnson has publicly spoken out about the racist abuse of English football players during this Euro. Right after the defeat on Sunday, the PM said that he found the social media abuse “appalling” and that the team should be hailed as heroes.
After missing the penalties in the Final, the social media pages of some of the best young players, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka, were flooded with racist comments.
Furthermore, the FA also released a statement saying that they are “appalled”, while the Metropolitan Police vowed to investigate.