The England football team’s efforts and attitude have been hailed nationally but marred by racist abuse resulting in four arrests
Police that have been investigating the online racist abuse of several black England players after the Euro 2020 final have revealed that they have made four arrests so far.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has said that the arrests had been made as part of a hate crime investigation that was led by the UK’s Football Policing Unit.
The arrests that were made came after Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka had missed penalties in the Euro 2020 final, in which England lost to Italy.
This comes after Marcus Rashford has responded to the racist trolls who abused him on social media platforms after he missed a penalty in the shoot-out of the Euro 2020 final, by saying “I will never apologise for who I am”.
The NPCC has said that they were working to identify individuals involved in a “significant number” of reports of racist abuse that were targeting members of the England national squad.
The NPCC said that dozens of applications had been submitted to multiple social media companies and four people so far have been arrested by local UK police forces.
National Police Chiefs’ Council Football Policing Lead, Chief Constable Mark Roberts, said: “The racial abuse aimed at our own players following Sunday night’s game is utterly vile and has quite rightly shocked and appalled people across the country.
“Our England team have been true role models during the tournament, conducting themselves with professionalism and dignity.
“I’m disgusted there are individuals out there who think it’s acceptable to direct such abhorrent abuse at them, or at anybody else.
“The UKFPU investigation is well underway and work continues to identify those responsible. We are working very closely with social media platforms, who are providing data we need to progress enquiries.
“If we identify that you are behind this crime, we will track you down and you will face the serious consequences of your shameful actions.
This comes after nineteen officers were injured after they “confronted volatile crowds” in London after the game, with 49 people being arrested. England supporters who had attacked officers after last night’s Euro 2020 final defeat are “thugs not fans”, the Metropolitan Police Federation has said.
Reports of racist abuse are being sent in to local police forces and by charities, football clubs, as well as other partner organisations.
Some social media platforms, which includes Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are also helping with the investigations.
The NPCC has said that the investigation follows a night of widespread crime and disorder following Sunday’s match.
As of the 13th of July, 897 football-related incidents and 264 arrests had been recorded across the country within the 24-hour period that was surrounding the final.
People can report incidents to their local police force by calling 101 or visiting their online reporting portal.
