Police make 11 arrests following racist abuse of England players

A police investigation into the racial abuse of England players following the conclusion of Euro 2020 has led to 11 arrests, it’s confirmed.

Players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were subject to abuse after they each missed penalties in England’s final against Italy last month. of abuse

The UK Football Policing Unit said that of the 207 posts on social media that were identified as criminal, 123 accounts were that of individuals from outside the United Kingdom.

Cheif constable blasts cowardly trolls

Chief Constable Mark Roberts, National Police Chiefs’ Council Football Policing lead, said: “There are people out there who believe they can hide behind a social media profile and get away with posting such abhorrent comments.

“They need to think again – we have investigators proactively seeking out abusive comments in connection to the match and, if they meet a criminal threshold, those posting them will be arrested.

“Our investigation is continuing at pace and we are grateful for those who have taken time to report racist posts to us.

“The complexities of investigating social media abuse cannot be underestimated. A vast amount of work has gone in to identifying these 11 individuals. I would like to thank Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for responding to our requests promptly.

“In the meantime, we are seeking engagement with the players themselves to offer our support, and seek their input for our investigation and subsequent prosecutions in conjunction with the CPS.”

Featured image credit: Getty