Picture Credit: AP
After the issue of online racism came under the light again following England's defeat at the hands of Italy in Euro 2020 final at Wembley Stadium, United Kingdom's Prime Minister Boris Johnson has assured everyone that strict actions will be taken to remove racism from the sport in the country. Three English players - Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka - have been subjected to racial slurs on social media since the trio missed the penalty kicks during the all-important shootout.
Racism is a problem in UK: Boris Johnson
The leader admitted that racism is a major issue currently prevailing in the country and opined that it is high time to address it. "I do think that racism is a problem in the United Kingdom, and I believe it needs to be tackled, and it needs to be stamped out with some of the means that I've described this morning," Johnson told parliament on Wednesday.
With the situation getting out of hands and fans across the globe demanding the country to be banned from hosting any international events in future, Mr Johnson announced that people engaging in online racism of players would be banned from watching the matches in stadiums. The PM said, "What we are doing is taking practical steps...so that if you are guilty of racist abuse online on football, then you will not be going to the match. No ifs, no buts, no exemptions, no excuses."
In addition, Mr Johnson also sent out a strict warning to social media companies (like Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram). The 57-year-old told that they would face fines amounting to 10% of their global revenues if they fail to remove hateful and racist posts from their platforms.
Man arrested in UK for sending racist messages to England players
A 37-year-old man was also arrested on Wednesday morning for sending racist messages to England players following their loss at Wembley. "A man has been arrested after racist messages aimed at England players were posted on social media following the European Championship final," Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said on Wednesday.
The investigation is currently under process and the recent sequence of events certainly sends out a strong signal that the authorities have taken this matter quite seriously and are taking some major steps to remove racism out of the country.