British lawmakers may require mandatory social media IDs after three Black England soccer players were flooded with racist abuse.
Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho all missed penalty kicks that resulted in England losing the Euro Cup 2020 final to Italy on Sunday.
A photo of Rashford reacting to his missed penalty kick went viral on social media.
The overwhelming racist abuse on social media generated headlines around the world. Celebrities and politicians in America condemned the racism.
Sean Combs shared a B&W photo of England’s Black players on his Instagram account. He captioned the image:
“We stand with you Kings. Proud of all your efforts on and off the field and we will always support you. Continue to inspire. Love
And to the racists… F*CK YOU!”
Dozens of fans repaired a defaced mural of Marcus Rashford by taping cards, flowers and banners over it.
What a statement this is ?@MarcusRashford?
? ?@SiClancy? pic.twitter.com/jQaLwn8Xoy— Sally Nugent (@sallynugent) July 13, 2021
Thanks to a petition that garnered over 600,000 signatures, UK parliament is debating a new law that would make it mandatory to provide verified identification to create a social media account.
The petition states that the account of a person under 18 must be verified with the ID of a parent or guardian.
The new law makes it easier to trace young hoodlums who post racist or hateful comments on social media.
England had reached the Euro Cup 2020 final for the first time in history on Sunday. Fans took to the streets to celebrate the country’s first-ever appearance in the final.
Dejected England players react to a missed penalty kick while Italy players celebrate in the foreground.
England was the odds on favorite to win. But the three players missed their penalty kicks and Italy won the shootout.
British reality star Katie Price got the ball rolling by asking fans to sign the petition.
THE VILE RACIST ABUSE ENGLAND PLAYERS ARE NOW FACING, PROVES WHY THIS PETITION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER @rioferdy5 @England https://t.co/XCXj9J6sde pic.twitter.com/dYsKzGHXuJ
— Katie Price (@KatiePrice) July 12, 2021
They have inspired us, played their part in taking us to the final and stepped up when their country needed them most. They deserve our admiration not hate. We proudly stand with these brave lions.
#SayNoToRacism #HopeUnited pic.twitter.com/z3slAgRKFq— BT (@bt_uk) July 12, 2021