Euro 2020: 'Wales stands with England players' following racist abuse, says First Minister
"Wales stands with the England team" after some of its players were subjected to racist abuse following the side's defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 final, the First Minister has said.
Mark Drakeford has joined a chorus of voices condemning the abuse of Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka who all missed from the spot on Sunday night as England went down on penalties.
The trio’s social media pages were quickly flooded with racist comments while a mural of Rashford in Greater Manchester was defaced.
The Football Association said it was “appalled” and England manager Gareth Southgate described the abuse as “unforgivable”.
In a Twitter post on Monday, Mark Drakeford said, "The racist abuse following last night's #Euro2020 final is absolutely unacceptable, we unreservedly condemn it."
"We stand with England's players against all forms of discrimination - there must be zero tolerance for it."
Manchester United players Jadon Sancho and Rashford were both brought on during the Euro final on Sunday and both missed their penalties in a tense shootout.
The official Twitter account for the England men’s and women’s national teams offered support to the targeted players.Labour MP for Cardiff Central and Shadow Sport Secretary Jo Stevens told ITV News that those who post abuse should be banned and "never allowed on those platforms again".
Football players and celebrities also stood by the England team and called out the "disgusting" racist comments on social media while a petition to to ban racists from all football matches in England for life had gained more than 300,000 signatures by Monday afternoon.