Jude Bellingham has spoken out about the racist abuse directed at Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka after they missed penalties in the Euro 2020 final defeat against Italy. The 18-year-old England midfielder said he was disturbed by how the trio were treated as 'just black' rather than English once they missed their spot-kicks.
In an interview with CNN, Bellingham reflected on the contrast between the unity leading up to the final and the immediate racist online abuse that followed the missed penalties. He noted that the country seemed united with players of all backgrounds, but after the misses, the black players were no longer considered English.
Bellingham emphasised that anyone can miss a penalty or make a mistake, and that such criticism should never happen. He highlighted the positive contributions of Rashford, Sancho and Saka off the pitch, including Rashford's work feeding children and Sancho's community pitches, and described the abuse as disgusting.
The midfielder also revealed that he receives racist messages on Instagram after most games, depending on his performance. He stated that no one deserves to be criticised with racism in any job, and called on those in power to do more to address the issue.
