July 16, 2021 • 2 mins
One of the England football players targeted with online racist abuse after his team's loss in the final of the European championship condemned social media companies Thursday for doing too little to block "hateful and hurtful" messages on their platforms.
In comments directed at Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, Bukayo Saka said he didn't want anyone else to be targeted by the kind of messages he and teammates Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho received after the three Black players missed penalty kicks during the shootout that ended Sunday's game.
"I knew instantly the kind of hate that I was about to receive and that (it) is a sad reality that your powerful platforms are not doing enough to stop these messages," the 19-year-old Saka wrote on Instagram. "There is no place for racism or hate of any kind in football. …"
The U.K. Football Policing Unit is investigating potential hate crimes linked to the online abuse, and four people have already been arrested, according to a statement from the National Police Chiefs Council.
"We are working very closely with social media platforms, who are providing data we need to progress enquiries,'' Cheshire police Chief Constable Mark Roberts, who leads soccer policing nationwide, said. "If we identify that you are behind this crime, we will track you down and you will face the serious consequences of your shameful actions."
The hate crime investigation follows a night of widespread crime and disorder during and after Sunday's European Football Championship match. As of Tuesday, authorities around the country had made 264 arrests linked to 897 incidents surrounding the final, the police chiefs said.
- by DANICA KIRKA Associated Press
In comments directed at Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, Bukayo Saka said he didn't want anyone else to be targeted by the kind of messages he and teammates Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho received after the three Black players missed penalty kicks during the shootout that ended Sunday's game.
"I knew instantly the kind of hate that I was about to receive and that (it) is a sad reality that your powerful platforms are not doing enough to stop these messages," the 19-year-old Saka wrote on Instagram. "There is no place for racism or hate of any kind in football. …"
The U.K. Football Policing Unit is investigating potential hate crimes linked to the online abuse, and four people have already been arrested, according to a statement from the National Police Chiefs Council.
"We are working very closely with social media platforms, who are providing data we need to progress enquiries,'' Cheshire police Chief Constable Mark Roberts, who leads soccer policing nationwide, said. "If we identify that you are behind this crime, we will track you down and you will face the serious consequences of your shameful actions."
The hate crime investigation follows a night of widespread crime and disorder during and after Sunday's European Football Championship match. As of Tuesday, authorities around the country had made 264 arrests linked to 897 incidents surrounding the final, the police chiefs said.
- by DANICA KIRKA Associated Press
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.