On Sunday, England welcomed Italy for the much anticipated Euro 2020 final at Wembley. Both teams were looking to lift the coveted prize in a historic event. For the Three Lions, this was the first time they'd appeared at a major final since the 1966 World Cup, while the Azzurri were aiming to win their first Euro title since 1968.
Historically, despite their strong record at Wembley, England have struggled against Italy. Before the match, they'd never beaten the Azzurri in a major competition, and after 120 minutes of action followed by a nervy penalty shoot-out, Roberto Mancini's men came out on top.
Naturally, this was quite crushing to the legions of England fans who had packed Wembley, with millions more sitting in front of TV sets, computers, and hunched over mobile phones in the hopes of witnessing history made on Sunday evening. And that's not to count the many more England supporters who may not be of English citizenship but were cheering on their adopted nation nonetheless from every corner of the world.
Unfortunately, three players: Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Bukayo Saka all failed to convert from the spot, meaning that Italy won the shoot-out 3-2.
All three of England's players who failed to convert also happen to be black. Yet, despite the rise of social justice movements and a hard push towards diversity and inclusion, it didn't stop the trio, including 19-year-old Arsenal starlet Saka who missed the final penalty, from being subject to horrible racially-motivated abuse online.
And some didn't stop there. A mural, which has been created to pay homage to Marcus Rashford and the Manchester United's star's impressive work at battling childhood hunger and poverty, was also defaced following England's loss on Sunday. Rashford has received praise from many quarters after his eventually successful campaign to pressure Boris Johnson's government into providing free school meals for children in England.
The offensive writing on the mural can be seen here:
Note - if you find you're easily upset by foul language, scroll past this photo.
The cowardly perpetrator - or perpetrators - who did this has yet to be caught, and police are also tracking those who attacked the trio of players online. It's a real shame that behavior of a vocal minority can spoil things for the majority of Three Lions supporters, who are certainly disappointed with the outcome but are decent enough not to take it out on three young players. But unfortunately, for all the talk of football being the "beautiful game", it still has a rather ugly and unseemly side.
