Sancho, who missed a penalty in the shootout, said as a society we need to do better and hold these "people accountable".
Follow Us
Jadon Sancho was one of the three English players, who faced racist abuse on social media, after missing a penalty in Sunday’s Euro 2020 final loss to Italy. Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka were the other two players who missed their penalties and suffered abuses online after the match. Speaking for the first time since England’s defeat, Sancho said that racial abuse is nothing new and as a society, we need to do better and hold these “people accountable”. The winger further insisted that “hate will never win”.
Sancho wrote on his social media profile, “I’m not going pretend that I didn’t see the racial abuse that me and my brothers Marcus and Bukayo received after the game, but sadly it’s nothing new. As a society we need to do better, and hold these people accountable. Hate will never win. To all the young people who have received similar abuse, hold your heads up high and keep chasing the dream.”
“I am proud of this England team and how we have united the whole nation in what has been a difficult 18 months for so many people. Much as we wanted to win the tournament, we will build and learn from this experience going forward. I want to say a massive thank you for all the positive messages and love and support that far outweighed the negative.”
Sancho came on as a late substitute in the extra time of the final. It was for the shootout he was brought in, but his penalty was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma. The winger, who is expected to join Manchester United from Borussia Dortmund soon, opened up about the match. “I’ve had a couple of days to reflect on Sunday’s final and still feel a mix of emotions. I would like to say sorry to all my teammates, coaching staff and most of all the fans who I let down. This is by far the worst feeling I’ve felt in a long time,” Jadon Sancho added.
“It’s hard to even put into words the real feeling, but there were so many positives to take away from this tournament though the defeat will hurt for a long time. My first thought before going into any football match is always “How can I help my team? How am I going to assist? How am I going to score? How am I going to create chances?” And that’s exactly what I wanted to do with that penalty, help the team.
“I was ready and confident to take it, these are the moments you dream of as a kid, it is why I play football. These are the pressured situations you want to be under as a footballer. I’ve scored penalties before at club level, I’ve practiced them countless times for both club and country so I picked my corner but it just wasn’t meant to be this time.
“We all had the same ambitions and objectives. We wanted to bring the trophy home. This has been one of the most enjoyable camps I’ve been part of in my career so far, the togetherness of the team has been unmatched, a real family on and off the pitch. It’s been an honour as always representing England and wearing the Three Lions shirt, and I have no doubt we’ll be back even stronger!”
