Bukayo Saka breaks silence following racist abuse after Euros loss
15 July 2021, 17:19
Bukayo Saka has responded to the racism he faced, following the England teams loss at the Euros.
England player Bukayo Saka has spoken out about the negative abuse that followed after his teams loss at the Euros.
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Himself alongside two other Black players, Marcus Rashford and Jason Sancho, were attacked online after missing their penalties.
The 19 year old Arsenal player was seen in tears, after he missed the final penalty - allowing Italy to take the win at the 2020 Euros.
Manager, Gareth Southgate, was seen hugging the youngster - who appeared devastated.
However, the loss resulted in racist abuse towards the England players - which even led to arrests.
Whilst the 19 year olds teammates have spoken out about their post-match feelings - Saka was the last to break his silence.
However, today (July 15) - Saka addressed the Euros, the racist abuse and even social media on his personal Instagram.
Captioning a picture of himself on the pitch Saka wrote: "I have stayed away from social media for a few days to spend time with my family and reflect on the last few weeks.".
He continued: "This message won’t do it justice how grateful I am for all the love that I have received, and I feel that I need to thank everyone who has supported me.".
The footballer said: "It was an honour to be part of an @England squad that leads by example"
"they are brothers for life and I’m grateful for everything that I have learnt from every one of the players and staff who worked so hard." he continued.
"To help that team reach our first final in 55 years, seeing my family in the crowd, knowing what they’ve given up to help me get there, that meant everything to me."
The star then spoke about his penalty miss, saying: "There are no words to tell you how disappointed I was with the result and my penalty. I really believed we would win this for you.".
Saka went on to say that despite the team losing this year he promises "this generation" will know "know it feels to win.".
He went on to speak on his feelings post-match, saying: he was "hurting so much" but "will not let that moment or the negativity that I’ve received this week break me.".
"This is what football should be about." he continued "Passion, people of all races, genders, religions and backgrounds coming together with one shared joy of the rollercoaster of football.".
He then addressed the social media platforms, which have been criticised for allowing hate speech.
Saying: "To the social media platforms @instagram @twitter @facebook I don’t want any child or adult to have to receive the hateful and hurtful messages that me Marcus and Jadon have received this week"
Saka continued: "There is no place for racism or hate of any kind in football or in any area of society".
Bukayo concluded his statement powerfully, saying: "Love always wins.".
See Bukayo Saka's full statement below.
