(Reuters) – British police have arrested 11 people as part of an investigation into cyber-racism against some black England players after losing the Euro 2020 final last month.
Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were targets for fouls after they missed their free kicks in the penalty shootout with Italy that decided the July 11 match after a 1-1 draw.
The incident sparked a police investigation, and was widely denied by the England national team, royalty, and political and religious leaders.
The UK’s Football Police unit said 207 social media posts had been identified as criminal, of which 123 were for foreign individuals and 34 were for Britons.
“There are people who think they can hide behind a social media profile and get away with posting outrageous comments. They need a rethink,” Mark Roberts, National Police Football Command Council chief, said in a statement.
“We have investigators proactively looking for offensive comments related to the match, and if they reach a criminal threshold, those who post them will be arrested.”
“Our investigation is continuing at a good pace, and we are grateful to those who took the time to report racist posts to us.”
(Pur Manasi Pathak, M Bengaluru)
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