Black English Soccer Stars Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Bukayo Saka Supported by Fans After Racist Outburst

In the latest reminder that racism isn’t just a U.S. problem, soccer fans have rushed to defend three young, Black players for the English national team after their misses at a pivotal moment helped Italy edge past the Brits to win the (delayed) 2020 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) European Football Championship (a.k.a., the Euro). The English Football Association (FA), national team, and even Prime Minister Boris Johnson have condemned the online and IRL attacks on Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, and Jadon Sancho.

As the world looked on, Italy and England went toe-to-toe on the soccer pitch. Even after two overtimes and a total of 120 minutes of play, the title match was tied, leading to penalty kicks — each team has five chances at a goal, taking turns one-on-one with a shooter versus a goalkeeper, and the team with most goals wins. After two attempts, England had a 2-1 lead, both goals made by white players.

But then Rashford pinged a shot off a goalpost, for a miss. Sancho’s shot was stopped by the Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma with a diving save. Italy had a 3-2 lead as 19-year-old Saka took the decisive, final shot and that was also stopped by another diving save by Donnarumma. Those three heartbreaking misses helped Italy beat England for the championship.

What followed, both online and off- was ugly. As CNN and the BBC reported, the players started to receive racist comments on social media. And a mural honoring 23-year-old Rashford’s work to end child food insecurity was defaced. Meanwhile, according to the BBC, a conservative member of the British parliament has apologized today after sending her colleagues a message effectively saying Rashford should’ve stuck to sports, echoing commentary leveled at other sports stars.

But almost as quickly as the racist outpouring began online, so did messages of support: “Don’t worry, man, minor setbacks major comebacks,” a user wrote on one of Sancho’s posts. On one of Saka’s posts, users expressed their love and told the teenage star to keep his head up. The same love made its way to Rashford’s Insta, where a user wrote in a comment on a post that the footballer was “a legend no matter what.” And at the mural of Rashford, the offensive defacement was covered up and locals came to post messages of support, as ESPN reported. The love wasn’t limited to fans, as English soccer authorities and politicians also spoke out.

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The FA, “English football’s governing body,” condemned the attacks, writing in a statement posted to Twitter, “The FA strongly condemns all forms of discrimination and is appalled by the online racism that has been aimed at some of our England players on social media. We could not be clearer that anyone behind such disgusting behaviour is not welcome in following the team. We will do all we can to support the players affected while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible.”

“We will continue to do everything we can to stamp discrimination out of the game, but we implore government to act quickly and bring in the appropriate legislation so this abuse has real-life consequences,” the statement continued. “Social media companies need to step up and take accountability and action to ban abusers from their platforms, gather evidence that can lead to prosecution, and support making their platforms free from this type of abhorrent abuse.”

England’s football team also backed up their players on Twitter, writing, “We’re disgusted that some of our squad – who have given everything for the shirt this summer – have been subjected to discriminatory abuse online after tonight’s game. We stand with our players.”

And Johnson wrote on Twitter, “This England team deserve to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media. Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.” However, at least one former England soccer player said that Johnson’s past comments about Muslim women evoke a sense of hypocrisy in the U.K.’s leader support for the soccer players, as Sky News reported.

The English national team has been a lightning rod for racism this year. As the Guardian reported, the team has been booed for taking a knee during the national anthem in a Kaepernickian move, though applause drowned out the boos at one game in June.

As the Associated Press reported, the English team’s multiethnic makeup helped turn the squad into a symbol of a multiethnic country. But, as with seemingly any symbol of progress against racism, it’s clear the soccer stars can be targets of hate for some just as they can be be loved by others.

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Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue