Bukayo Saka, England midfielder has finally spoken a few days after the racial abuse he had to go through following the UEFA Euro 2020 final against Italy. After Saka failed to net the penalty kick during the shootout, which led to Italy winning the tournament, he and several England players faced racial abuse.
Saka has now issued a statement in which he has admitted that he knew he would face something of that sort after he missed the kick but has said that it will not break him as not just Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho too were victims on online racial abuse.
Saka has urged the likes of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, to use their power to good effect and act against the abuse.
“I can promise you this – I will not let that moment or the negativity I received this week break me,” Saka wrote in a statement he issued on Twitter.
“My reaction post-match said it all – I was hurting so much and I felt like I’d let you all and my England family down. For those who have campaigned on my behalf and sent me heartfelt letters, wished me and my family well, I am so thankful.
“To the social media platforms Facebook, Instagram and Twitter: I don’t want any child or adult to receive the hateful and hurtful messages that me, Marcus and Jadon have received. I knew instantly the kind of hate I was about to receive and that is a sad reality that your powerful platforms are not doing enough to stop these messages.
“There is no place for racism or hate of any kind in football or any area of society and to the majority of people coming together to call out the people sending these messages, by taking action and reporting these to the police and driving out the hate by being kind to one another, we will win," he added.
'We need to do better as a society and hold these people accountable' - Sancho
Sancho too joined his teammate after Rashford had also issued a statement, all in the last 24 hours.
Sancho wrote, "I’m not going pretend that I didn’t see the racial abuse that me and my brothers Marcus and Bukayo received after the game, but sadly it’s nothing new. As a society we need to do better, and hold these people accountable.
"Hate will never win. To all the young people who have received similar abuse, hold your heads up high and keep chasing the dream. I am proud of this England team and how we have united the whole nation in what has been a difficult 18 months for so many people. Much as we wanted to win the tournament, we will build and learn from this experience going forward. I want to say a massive thank you for all the positive messages and love and support that far outweighed the negative. It’s been an honour as always representing England and wearing the Three Lions shirt, and I have no doubt we’ll be back even stronger! Stay safe & see you soon."
'Will never apologise for who I am' - Rashford
Rashford earlier had issued a statement saying that he has never felt more pride than wearing an Englan shirt and said that he can take criticism on his performance but he will never apologise for who he is and where he has come from.
"A brotherhood has been built that is unbreakable. Your success is my success. Your failures are mine. I’ve grown into a sport where I expect to read things written about myself. Whether it be the colour of my skin, where I grew up, or, most recently, how I decide to spend my time off the pitch. I can take critique of my performance all day long, my penalty was not good enough, it should have gone in but I will never apologise for who I am and where I came from.
"I’ve felt no prouder moment than wearing those three lions on my chest and seeing my family cheer me on in a crowd of 10s of thousands. I dreamt of days like this. The messages I’ve received today have been positively overwhelming and seeing the response in Withington had me on the verge of tears. The communities that always wrapped their arms around me continue to hold me up. I’m Marcus Rashford, 23 year old, black man from Withington and Wythenshawe, South Manchester. If I have nothing else I have that."
