England player Tyrone Mings has criticised Priti Patel’s response to the racism members of the team have been subjected to since Sunday night’s match against Italy.
Following the game, which was England’s first major tournament final since the World Cup in 1966, Black team members including Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho have been met with a wave of racist remarks online.
Responding to this on Monday morning, the home secretary tweeted: “I am disgusted thatEngland players who have given so much for our country this summer have been subject to vile racist abuse on social media.
“It has no place in our country and I back the police to hold those responsible accountable.”
However, Mings claimed that Patel had previously “stoked the fire” by refusing to condemn football fans who booed the England squad for taking the knee last month, which she branded “gesture politics”.
“You don’t get to stoke the fire at the beginning of the tournament by labelling our anti-racism message as ‘gesture politics’ and then pretend to be disgusted when the very thing we’re campaigning against, happens,” he wrote back.
Reflecting on England’s performance in the Euro 2020 final, Mings also tweeted: “I’m still struggling to find the words to express my emotions from the past month. I’m so proud of everyone who has contributed to the joy and togetherness this team has bought to millions. We have celebrated, smiled, cried and cheered together and for that, I’m so so proud.
“But waking up today and seeing my brothers being racially abused for being brave enough to put themselves in a position to help this country, is something that sickens, but doesn’t surprise me.”
“We have literally made history,” he added. “We’ve gone where no one else has gone. Take that in.”
Mings’ sentiment has been echoed multiple times since both the home secretary and prime minister spoke out in defence of the England players who were receiving racist comments.
Former England defender Gary Neville previously told Sky News of Boris Johnson’s response: “I’m just reading your breaking news, and it says the PM condemns racist abuse of England players.
“Is that the same prime minister that a few weeks ago... Gareth Southgate a few weeks ago, about five days on the trot, told us that the players were taking the knee to promote the equality, and it was against racism.
“The prime minister said that it was okay for the population of this country to boo those players who were trying to promote equality and defend against racism.”
He added: “It starts at the very top. And so for me, I wasn’t surprised in the slightest when I woke up this morning to those headlines.”
Boris Johnson’s rep later said they “utterly reject” any accusations of hypocrisy levelled at the prime minister.
“[Johnson] was clear he wanted to see everyone getting behind the team to cheer them on and said racism in any form has no place in our society,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.
“He made it extremely clear… that he wanted to see the whole nation getting behind the team and not booing.”
Following the game, which was England’s first major tournament final since the World Cup in 1966, Black team members including Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho have been met with a wave of racist remarks online.
Responding to this on Monday morning, the home secretary tweeted: “I am disgusted thatEngland players who have given so much for our country this summer have been subject to vile racist abuse on social media.
“It has no place in our country and I back the police to hold those responsible accountable.”
However, Mings claimed that Patel had previously “stoked the fire” by refusing to condemn football fans who booed the England squad for taking the knee last month, which she branded “gesture politics”.
“You don’t get to stoke the fire at the beginning of the tournament by labelling our anti-racism message as ‘gesture politics’ and then pretend to be disgusted when the very thing we’re campaigning against, happens,” he wrote back.
Reflecting on England’s performance in the Euro 2020 final, Mings also tweeted: “I’m still struggling to find the words to express my emotions from the past month. I’m so proud of everyone who has contributed to the joy and togetherness this team has bought to millions. We have celebrated, smiled, cried and cheered together and for that, I’m so so proud.
“But waking up today and seeing my brothers being racially abused for being brave enough to put themselves in a position to help this country, is something that sickens, but doesn’t surprise me.”
“We have literally made history,” he added. “We’ve gone where no one else has gone. Take that in.”
Mings’ sentiment has been echoed multiple times since both the home secretary and prime minister spoke out in defence of the England players who were receiving racist comments.
Former England defender Gary Neville previously told Sky News of Boris Johnson’s response: “I’m just reading your breaking news, and it says the PM condemns racist abuse of England players.
“Is that the same prime minister that a few weeks ago... Gareth Southgate a few weeks ago, about five days on the trot, told us that the players were taking the knee to promote the equality, and it was against racism.
“The prime minister said that it was okay for the population of this country to boo those players who were trying to promote equality and defend against racism.”
He added: “It starts at the very top. And so for me, I wasn’t surprised in the slightest when I woke up this morning to those headlines.”
Boris Johnson’s rep later said they “utterly reject” any accusations of hypocrisy levelled at the prime minister.
“[Johnson] was clear he wanted to see everyone getting behind the team to cheer them on and said racism in any form has no place in our society,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.
“He made it extremely clear… that he wanted to see the whole nation getting behind the team and not booing.”
