By: Financial Times
July 13, 2021
The torrent of racist abuse targeted at black England footballers in the wake of the team’s loss in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday has reignited the national debate over the policing of social media platforms, with Boris Johnson urging tech bosses on Tuesday to “up their game”.
On Tuesday evening, Johnson met managers from platforms including Facebook and Twitter in Downing Street for talks that focused on the issue of racist abuse in the fallout from the England football team’s defeat to Italy.
Johnson’s spokesperson said the prime minister told the cabinet earlier in the day that the abuse of the black players who failed to score penalties during the final — Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka — was “utterly disgraceful and had emerged from the dark spaces of the internet”.
However, Johnson continued to face criticism that he and fellow ministers gave cover to racist abuse of the England team after they initially failed to condemn fans who booed players “taking the knee”, an anti-racist gesture.
The Metropolitan Police has said it is investigating the social media abuse. Facebook said it was working with the authorities.