Home secretary Priti Patel has been accused of “stoking the fire” of racism by an England footballer after players from the national team were racially abused following the Euro 2020 final.
Tyrone Mings criticised Ms Patel for her comments on taking the knee last month, when she dismissed the team’s anti-racism protest as “gesture politics” and suggested fans had a right to boo the players if they wanted to.
Mings, who played in England’s group stage matches, responded directly to a tweet by the home secretary in which she said she was “disgusted” by the racist abuse sent to players.
The footballer replied: “You don’t get to stoke the fire at the beginning of the tournament by labelling our anti-racism message as ‘Gesture Politics’ and then pretend to be disgusted when the very thing we’re campaigning against, happens.”
In a separate tweet, the England player added: “Waking up today and seeing my brothers being racially abused for being brave enough to put themselves in a position to help this country, is something that sickens, but doesn’t surprise me.”
Three players, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, who missed penalties in the defeat to Italy on Sunday received racist abuse on social media in the hours after the game.
In a post also published on Monday, England captain Harry Kane made clear that those who sent abuse to players would not be welcome to support the team.
“Three lads who were brilliant all summer had the courage to step up and take a pen when the stakes were high,” Kane wrote on Twitter.
“They deserve support and backing not the vile racist abuse they’ve had since last night. If you abuse anyone on social media you’re not an England fan and we don’t want you.”
Their comments came after Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused Boris Johnson of failing to show leadership by being reluctant to criticise fans for booing the team for taking the knee against racism.
Although the prime minister said those responsible for the abuse “should be ashamed of themselves”, Sir Keir said that his words would “ring hollow” due to his past actions.
Former England player Gary Neville also accused Mr Johnson of condoning the booing of players and suggested that he had promoted racism with his past comments.
The PM’s official spokesperson did not initially condemn individuals who booed England’s players ahead of the tournament last month but the line from Downing Street changed days later to say that Mr Johnson wanted to see fans “cheer, not boo” the team.
In response to a request for comment on Mr Mings’ post, the Home Office pointed to Ms Patel’s statement in the Commons and her tweet earlier today condemning the abuse.
Additional reporting by PA
