TOPLINE The plight of black England national team players who were hit by a torrent of racist insults after the team's defeat in the Euro 2020 final last Sunday has taken center stage on Instagram this week, with a focus particularly in Marcus, 23 years old. Rashford, who has opened up in depth about his personal experience since the game.
KEY FACTS
Data from social media tracking firm Newship shows the 12 most commented posts on Instagram since Sunday, all related to at least one of England's three black players (Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho) who have been attacked for missing penalties. during the final shootings against Italy.
These posts, which garnered up to 4.6 million likes and hundreds of thousands of comments, ranged from reports of the attacks from major British media outlets like BBC News and Sky Sports to more personal posts about the players.
The vast majority were focused on Rashford, a Manchester United striker who has posted several high-level posts since England's defeat, including an in-depth reaction the day after the match that generated the most comments (230,000) of all. posted on Instagram this week.
In the popular July 12 post, praised in comments by several high-profile soccer stars, Rashford apologized to fans for missing the penalty, but said he will "never" apologize "for who I am and where I come from. "
He also highlighted the response to the disfigurement of a mural of his face in his hometown of Withington, Manchester, and said it brought him to the brink of tears when he saw fans. cleaning up vandalism.
CRUCIAL QUOTATION
"I've become a sport where I look forward to reading about myself, whether it's my skin color, where I grew up, or more recently where I decide to spend my time off the court," wrote Rashford. “I can take criticism of my performance all day, my penalty was not good enough. I should have walked in but I never will [apologize] because of who I am or where I come from. "
TANGENT
Although neither won as much engagement as Rashford's, both Saka and Sancho, who are 19 and 21, respectively, also posted statements on social media reflecting the game. "There are no words to tell you how disappointed I was with the result of my penalty," Saka wrote to more than 2.5 million likes and supportive comments from other Arsenal players, Ben White, Joe Willock and more. Meanwhile, Sancho considered missing the penalty "by far the worst feeling I've ever felt in my career."
KEY BACKGROUND
The defeat in last week's match, which marked the first time England have reached a grand final since winning the World Cup in 1966, immediately sparked a torrent of racist attacks on the young trio on social media. The abuse was fast condemned by the Football Association of England, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and even Prince William, and arrests have since been made in connection with the offensive comments. Target players have lobbied for social media companies to take meaningful action to prevent online hatred from resurfacing.
By Jemima McEvoy, Forbes Team
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