We condemn the racist abuse Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho have received since the end of the Euro 2020 Final. This includes the vandalisation of the Rashford mural in Manchester.
We condemn racist violence and abuse by a minority of racist England fans towards African, Caribbean and Asian England fans, Italy and Denmark supporters.
This racism and xenophobia precisely illustrate why England footballers took the knee at every match during Euro 2020.
Missing penalties is not unique to three black footballers. Stuart Pearce, Chris Waddle and Gareth Southgate also missed penalties in crucial matches.
By reaching the final of a major tournament this England team is the most successful since 1966. What underpinned this success is the diverse and multicultural team.
Gary Neville was right to say racism starts from the top. Prime Minister Boris Johnson failed to condemn the booing of England footballers taking the knee and MPs such as Home Secretary Priti Patel, Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith who attacked England for taking the knee.
As Tyrone Mings told Home Secretary Priti Patel: “You don’t get to stoke the fire at the beginning of the tournament by labelling our anti-racism message as ‘Gesture Politics’ & then pretend to be disgusted when the very thing we’re campaigning against, happens.”
We call on:
FIFA, UEFA and FA to ban from football matches those that commit violent hate crimes at matches and on social media.
Instagram and other social media platforms to ban people who engage in racist abuse and implement measures preventing racism in the first place.
The police to arrest and charge people for racist crimes committed at matches and on social media.
We congratulate the England team and its commitment to fighting racism.
We send support to all teams taking the knee in domestic and international football competitions next season.
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SIGNATORIES INCLUDE:
Diane Abbott MP
John McDonnell MP
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
Claudia Webbe MP
Zarah Sultana MP
Richard Burgon MP
Chris Stephens MP
Kate Osamor MP
Tahir Ali MP
Navendu Mishra MP
Ben Lake MP
Afzal Khan MP
Kim Johnson MP
Len McCluskey, General Secretary of Unite the Union
Kevin Courtney, General Secretary of NEU
Dave Ward, General Secretary of CWU
Shavanah Taj, General Secretary of WTUC
Mick Whelan, General Secretary of ASLEF
Lord Hain
Baroness Blower
Patrick Vernon OBE, social commentator and Windrush campaigner
Mohammed Kozbar, Chairman Finsbury Park Mosque
Aamer Anwar, Human Rights Lawyer
Lindsey German, Stop the War Convenor
Kate Hudson, General Secretary of CND
David Rosenberg, Jewish Socialists’ Group
Mark Serwotka, General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union
Margaret Greer, UNISON National Race Equality Officer
Raghad Altikriti, Muslim Association of Britain President
Azhar Qayum, CEO of MEND
Lawrence Davies, lawyer for Belly Mujinga case