Wednesday, September 18, 2024 - Police are set to investigate the online racist abuse suffered by England stars Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham during Euro 2024.
The Football Association have referred to a UEFA report that
reveals Arsenal winger Saka and Real Madrid midfielder Bellingham suffered the
most serious online abuse during the Germany tournament, as per Mail
Sport.
Authorities can intervene with cases of online abuse due to
the Online Safety Act and police have now been made aware of horrific messages
Saka and Bellingham were sent.
The FA has provided funding of around £25,000 to facilitate
prosecutions in regards to online abuse of their players.
Saka was subject to the most ‘tier one’ comments with 50,
whereas Bellingham received 40, as shown by a UEFA report.
Tier one comments are classified by UEFA as ‘being the most
harmful and recognised as a candidate for prosecution according to law.’
Racist abuse falls under the tier one category.
Saka was additionally the target of horrendous racial abuse
following the Euro 2020 final versus Italy.
Going into the tournament, Mark Roberts, the National Police
Chiefs’ Council lead for football policing, stated: ‘We were conscious after
events at the Euros (2020) when there was horrific abuse of some of our black
players.
‘So we responded to that, we did investigations and we were
able to prosecute some people arising from that.
‘What we were very keen to do was to speak to the squad and
make sure they are aware that we are committed to this, we treat it seriously
and advise them how to protect themselves.
‘But equally, it is better if you can deal with something in
advance rather than after the event to try and explain what we can do.
‘We explained the reporting methods and that if things come
in from other routes we will investigate it.’
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