Yahoo News Line of Duty's Martin Compston and more star speak out against racist abuse of England players
Line of Duty star Martin Compston, The Haunting of Bly Manor's Rahul Kohli and The Good Place's Jameela Jamil are among those who have publicly condemned the horrendous racist abuse being levelled at England's players following last night's UEFA Euro 2020 final.
Yesterday evening (July 11), the nation's team went up against Italy in an attempt to win the whole tournament and take home the trophy.
Unfortunately though, despite having earned their first goal just a couple of minutes into the game, a tied score at the end of playtime meant that the result had to be decided upon by penalties – and the opposition ended up walking away victorious.
Related: EastEnders to reference the Euro 2020 finals in tonight's episode
Almost immediately after the loss, star athletes Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were targeted by so-called fans online, who took to their social media profiles to flood the comment sections with criticism and racial slurs.
The trio bore the brunt of the backlash after missing their spot kicks at the end of the tense match.
Offline, a Manchester-based mural of Rashford, who was appointed MBE in the 2020 Birthday Honours, having spent much of the last year campaigning against homelessness and child hunger in the UK, was defaced.
"Knives out from some who had them knighted yesterday. Southgate and his team carried themselves with class," Compston wrote on Twitter, in response to the disgusting surge of bigotry brought on by the event.
Knives out from some who had them knighted yesterday. Southgate and his team carried themselves with class. He led with humility, Rashford & Sterling role models for youngsters football or other wise credit to their country. Those that boo and abuse them are what’s wrong with it
— martin compston (@martin_compston) July 12, 2021
Related: Good Morning Britain's Andi Peters opens up about being racially profiled in shops
"He led with humility, Rashford & Sterling role models for youngsters football or other wise credit to their country," the Steve Arnott actor continued. "Those that boo and abuse them are what's wrong with it."
Kohli, who is also known for playing medical examiner Ravi Chakrabarti in iZombie, also tweeted: "Defend Saka, Rashford, and Sancho at all costs. Report and block hate/abuse. Flood their socials with positivity. Call out tomorrow's rags if they dare pin anything on 3 young English lads who stepped up for our country."
"Disgusted at the racist untalented bitter cowards being abusive towards Rashford, Sancho and Saka," Jamil added. "Three young men we're lucky to have on our team. I hope social media/mainstream media platforms as well as ALL WHITE PLAYERS go out of their way to fight this, and protect them. FFS.
"The 'bravest' thing these racist pigs have done in their lives is tweet an emoji of a monkey from their little anonymous accounts… to successful, courageous, legendary young Black athletes who take huge risks, LIVE on world stages… LOOK AT YOUR LIFE MATE."
On Instagram, Sherlock's Amanda Abbington described the trolls as "arseholes" and "lower than scum", while urging her followers to remember that Rashford, Sancho and Saka "played so beautifully and can hold their heads up high".
During Good Morning Britain's coverage on Monday (July 12), host Richard Madeley insisted that "it's not enough just to decry [prejudiced behaviour] and call it disgusting".
"We have to track these people down, and it is possible through IP addresses," he said. "We need to spend some time and some money to get these guys and to lock them away.
"It is not representative of this country. It is a disgusting distortion of what this country now is today," Madeley continued.
"It didn't used to be, but now we are a properly diverse, wonderful country to live in today. These people who are sending these messages are breaking the law. They're breaking a profound moral code and they need to be dragged by the scruff of the neck into the dock."
"We're united in condemning the racist abuse," Madeley's co-presenter Susanna Reid added. "It is heartbreak after heartbreak… Frankly, it's disgusting. The full force of the law should be brought down on their heads."
For more information on how you can support Black Lives Matter, please visit its official website or donate here. Readers can also donate to the UK anti-discrimination group Stand Up To Racism, and the Unite Families & Friends Campaign, which supports those affected by deaths in police, prison and psychiatric custody.
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