England’s Marcus Rashford said he will “never apologise for who I am” in an emotional statement after receiving racist abuse following the side’s Euro 2020 final defeat.

The Manchester United forward was one of three players, along with Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, who were attacked by racist trolls after missing penalties in Sunday’s 3-2 shoot-out defeat by Italy.

Rashford’s England team-mate Tyrone Mings criticised British Home Secretary Priti Patel, saying she had “stoked the fire” by defending those who booed players taking the knee.

Rashford has become a hero to many outside football by lobbying the British government to provide free school meals for under-privileged children during the coronavirus pandemic.

“I’m Marcus Rashford, 23-year-old black man from Withington and Wythenshawe, South Manchester. If I have nothing else I have that,” Rashford wrote in a statement on Twitter.

Rashford, who came on late in the second period of extra time, apologised for his penalty miss and said “something didn’t feel quite right” when he came to take the kick.

“It’s been playing in my head over and over since I struck the ball and there’s probably not a word to quite describe how it feels. Final. 55 years. 1 penalty. History. All I can say is sorry. I wish it had gone differently,” he wrote.

“I can take critique of my performance all day long, my penalty was not good enough, it should have gone in but I will never apologise for who I am and where I came from,” Rashford added.

– ‘Stoke the fire’ –

Images on social media showed a mural honouring Rashford in his hometown of Withington had been defaced before locals covered the hateful language with messages of support.

“Seeing the response in Withington had me on the verge of tears,” Rashford said.

He added that he was proud to have worn the England jersey during his side’s first major final appearance in 55 years, and grateful for the “brotherhood” that was created in the England camp.

Mings criticism is not the first time he has disagreed with Patel.

The Aston Villa star criticised her — after the opening Euro 2020 win over Croatia — for her remarks that taking the knee was “gesture politics”.

She also refused to condemn the England fans who booed the team for doing it.

Premier League teams have taken the knee since last year following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in the United States.

Patel had said on Monday the racial abuse of the three players was “disgusting” but it did not wash with Mings.

“You don’t get to stoke the fire at the beginning of the tournament by labelling our anti-racism message as ‘Gesture Politics’ and then pretend to be disgusted when the very thing we’re campaigning against, happens,” tweeted Mings.

Mings remarks received support from Patel’s fellow Conservative lawmaker and former defence minister Johnny Mercer.

“The painful truth is that this guy (Mings) is completely right,” Mercer tweeted.

“Very uncomfortable with the position we Conservatives are needlessly forcing ourselves into.

“Do I fight it or stay silent? Modern Conservatism was always so much more to me. We must not lose our way.”

England captain Harry Kane lashed out at those who had posted the racial slurs — following England manager Gareth Southgate who had said the abuse was “unforgivable”.

“Three lads who were brilliant all summer had the courage to step up and take a pen (penalty) when the stakes were high,” tweeted Kane.

“They deserve support and backing not the vile racist abuse they’ve had since last night (Sunday).

“If you abuse anyone on social media you’re not an England fan and we don’t want you.”

The racist attacks were strongly condemned by the English Football Association whose president, Prince William, said he was “sickened” by the abuse.

Source: AFP

Political leaders and footballing chiefs in Britain expressed disgust on Monday at racial abuse targeting England stars, including three black players who missed penalties in the Euro 2020 final against Italy.

But as Facebook vowed yet again to look into abuse on its Instagram platform, Prime Minister Boris Johnson himself came under stinging criticism for earlier refusing to condemn fans who had booed English players’ campaign against racism.

England manager Gareth Southgate said the online invective was “unforgivable”.

“Some of it has come from abroad, we have been told this, but some of it is from this country,” he told reporters.

“We have been a beacon of light to bring people together and the national team stands for everybody.”

Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, the three players whose penalty shootout misses handed victory to Italy at Wembley, were the victims of a stream of abuse on Instagram and Twitter — many apparently from foreign trolls and bots.

“This England team deserve to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media,” Johnson wrote on Twitter.

“Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.”

While some people identifying as England fans used racial slurs in blaming the trio for the defeat, other offensive messages were accompanied with “forza italia” hashtags.

England’s players have made a strong stand against racism at the tournament, taking a knee before their games including Sunday’s final.

Johnson and others in the Conservatives’ “anti-woke” government had initially defended the freedom of speech of England fans who booed the players, before backing the team later in the tournament.

Former Manchester United player Gary Neville accused the prime minister of having “promoted” racism, noting one notorious past comment by Johnson likening Muslim women who wear the veil to “letter-boxes”.

“It starts at the top. What do you think is going to happen underneath in life? The parents do something, the children follow,” the pundit told Sky News.

Neville joined others such as Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat who demanded tougher action from social media companies.

“Those who write are pathetic and deserve to be identified and face the public consequences, those who publish it are profiting from hate,” Tugendhat said.

– Prince William ‘sickened’ –

In a statement, Facebook said it had “quickly removed comments and accounts directing abuse at England’s footballers last night and we’ll continue to take action against those that break our rules”.

“No one thing will fix this challenge overnight, but we’re committed to keeping our community safe from abuse,” it said.

London’s police force said it was aware of “a number of offensive and racist social media comments” being directed towards the footballers.

“This abuse is totally unacceptable, it will not be tolerated and it will be investigated,” said the Metropolitan Police, who were also probing scenes of mayhem after some ticketless fans forced their way into Wembley Stadium.

England player Raheem Sterling also received a stream of racial abuse after social media users accused him of cheating to win a penalty in England’s semi-final win over Denmark.

“We’re disgusted that some of our squad –- who have given everything for the shirt this summer –- have been subjected to discriminatory abuse online after tonight’s game,” the English Football Association tweeted.

“We stand with our players.”

Prince William, the FA’s president who attended the final with his wife Kate and son George, said he was “sickened” by the abuse.

“It is totally unacceptable that players have to endure this abhorrent behaviour. It must stop now and all those involved should be held accountable,” he tweeted.

Despite the abuse, the overwhelming majority of messages were in support of the players, who have been praised throughout the tournament for helping bring together a nation hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Source: AFP

Italians celebrated the European Championship football title as a new beginning not only for their youthful national team but for a country that’s been yearning to return to normalcy after being hit hard and long by the coronavirus pandemic.

A cacophony of honking cars, fireworks and singing fans filled the night in Rome as thousands of people took to the streets after Italy beat England in a penalty shootout Sunday to win its first major football trophy since the 2006 World Cup.

“We are coming out of a difficult year and a half which has left us exhausted, like other countries in the world,” said Fabrizio Galliano, a 29-year-old from Naples who watched the match on a big screen in downtown Rome. “This means so much. Sports is one of the things that unites us, among all the things that separate us. But to finally be able to feel that joy that we’ve been missing, it goes beyond sports.”

Many Italians saw the European Championship as a relaunch for a country that spent much of the past 16 months in various stages of lockdown. Italy was the first country outside Asia to get hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and suffered immensely, particularly in the spring of 2020 when hospitals in northern Italy were overwhelmed with patients and the death toll soared. Italy has recorded more than 127,000 Covid-19 deaths, the highest in the 27-nation European Union.

“It’s been a complicated year for everyone but especially for us who were one of the first countries hit. This is a signal of a new beginning,” said Michela Solfanelli, a 30-year-old event producer based in Milan.

Most virus restrictions have been lifted since the spring and those that remain were largely ignored by the mass of Italy fans who danced in the streets of the capital chanting “we are champions of Europe.”

David Bellomo, a 23-year-old from the southern city of Bari, pointed out that this was Italy’s second big victory this year, after Italian band Maneskin won the Eurovision Song Contest in May.

“Thanks to Eurovision and thanks to this game and (football) we’ve managed to come back this year,” he said. “We almost got a triple,” he added, referring to Matteo Berrettini, the Italian tennis player who lost the Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic earlier in the day.

Shoulder to shoulder, fans nervously watched the penalty shootout on two big screens set up on Piazza del Popolo, an ellipitcal cobblestone square at the edge of Rome’s historic center. A deafening roar rose to the sky as Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved England’s last penalty.

Among the sea of blue Italy shirts was an immigrant family from Senegal, who came from the town of Zagarolo, an hour outside Rome, to experience the final with the crowd in the piazza.

“I am not Italian, but I can feel the emotions. I feel it, as if I were Italian,” said Falilou Ndao, 42. “We really love this country.”

His 13-year-old son Yankho, an Italy fan and football player, was impressed by the team.

“They showed courage. They never gave up, even when they were down by a goal,” he said. “It is so well-deserved. They have been playing great the entire tournament. Go Italy!”

Though people are still required to wear masks in crowded situations, police made no attempts to intervene as throngs of barefaced fans poured out of the piazza, singing the national anthem and lighting flares. Fireworks cracked overhead as fans cruised through the city waving Italian flags from their cars.

Dr. Annamaria Altomare, a 39-year-old gastroenterologist, watched the spectacle with a friend from a safe distance. They were among the few wearing masks.

“We want to avoid the delta variant in this mess,” she said, laughing.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)

England fed off the energy of a passionate Wembley crowd to beat Denmark 2-1 in extra time in the Euro 2021 semi-finals on Wednesday and now stand just 90 minutes away from ending their 55-year trophy drought.

Gareth Southgate’s men will face Italy on Sunday — again on home turf and roared on by a nation at fever pitch — infused with belief they can make history by winning the Euros for the first time and lift a second major trophy after their 1966 World Cup triumph.

Harry Kane scored twice as a buoyant England cruised through to the semi-finals of Euro 2020 with a one-sided 4-0 win over Ukraine in Rome on Saturday.

Kane ended a worrying international scoring drought by netting in the 2-0 last-16 defeat of Germany in midweek and he put England ahead inside four minutes on a sweaty evening in the Italian capital.

Gareth Southgate’s side then put this quarter-final tie out of sight with two more goals early in the second half, one from Harry Maguire before Kane netted again.

Substitute Jordan Henderson got the fourth, and as Denmark lie in wait in the Wembley semi-final on Tuesday England will be confident of going on to reach a first ever European Championship final and even now claiming a first major international title since 1966.

The draw here was kind for them, with Ukraine surely as weak an opponent as they could hope to face in a quarter-final, a stage at which they have lost to the likes of Italy and Portugal in recent European Championships.

However the statistics are impressive, with England having come through five games at this tournament all without conceding a goal.

Some of their play in wide areas was outstanding, with Raheem Sterling and Jadon Sancho—making his first start at the Euro—too hot for Ukraine to handle.

Kane, their captain, had gone close to eight hours without finding the net for his country but his opener here was his second in just eight minutes following the late strike that secured victory over Germany.

Regardless of the opposition, their display at the Stadio Olimpico was a step-up in class in the final third to previous games at the Euro and they will be favourites at home against a Danish side who played their own quarter-final against the Czech Republic on Saturday in distant Baku.

Hat-trick of headers

This will be the only match England play away from home in the competition and it marked quite a difference to their defeat of the Germans, which was watched by more than 40,000 supporters at Wembley, where coronavirus restrictions were eased.

With Italy currently imposing a five-day quarantine on all arrivals from the United Kingdom, the number of England fans in Rome was limited to those already based in the European Union although they still made themselves heard in the crowd of under 12,000.

They had plenty to celebrate, unlike their Ukrainian counterparts, as Andriy Shevchenko’s team came up short in their bid to take the country to a first ever major tournament semi-final.

They scraped out of their group and then edged 10-man Sweden in extra time in the last 16, and their chances of shocking England looked dead and buried when they fell behind early on.

Sterling, who terrorised the Ukraine defence down the left, played in Kane who poked the ball past Georgiy Bushchan.

Ukraine’s giant striker Roman Yaremchuk forced a save from Jordan Pickford and a Declan Rice piledriver was kept out by Bushchan, with England looking comfortable.

However Ukraine were a different proposition after injured defender Serhiy Kryvtsov was replaced by Dynamo Kiev winger Viktor Tsygankov in the 36th minute.

They finished the first half strongly and more pessimistic England fans may have spent the interval reliving their exit from Euro 2016, when they lost to Iceland in the last 16 despite also having opened the scoring in the fourth minute.

They need not have worried.

England scored again less than a minute after the restart when a foul on Kane allowed Luke Shaw to deliver a free-kick from the left for Maguire to head in.

Four minutes after that Sterling supplied the overlapping Shaw and he crossed for a rejuvenated Kane to head home.

The Tottenham star nearly had his hat-trick, a stinging volley producing a fine save from Bushchan.

From Mason Mount’s resulting corner came the fourth goal, another header, this time from Henderson, the first of five substitutes sent on by Southgate who would have been thinking about the semi-final long before this quarter-final was officially over.

Source: AFP

Italy beat Belgium 2-1 in a pulsating Euro 2020 quarter-final in Munich on Friday to set up a last-four clash with Spain, who needed penalties to get the better of 10-man Switzerland.

Lorenzo Insigne’s brilliant strike proved to be the winner for Italy, who extended their national record unbeaten run to 32 matches.

Roberto Mancini’s men will face Spain in the first semi-final on Tuesday at Wembley.

“We deserved to win. The players were extraordinary,” Italy coach Mancini told Rai.

“It is clear that we suffered in the last 10 minutes because we were tired. They were good, we could have scored a few more goals.”

Belgium and Italy were the only sides to win all 10 games in qualifying and the only teams along with the Netherlands to win every match in the group stage.

The Azzurri, whose only European title came in 1968, started brightly and thought they had struck first when Leonardo Bonucci put the ball in the net, only for VAR to rule the goal out for offside.

Nicolo Barella did give Italy the lead in the 31st minute with a fine solo goal though, jinking between two defenders and hammering a shot into the far corner past Thibaut Courtois.

The Italians were in dreamland when Insigne curled home a wonderful long-range strike into the top corner shortly before half-time.

But Belgium gave themselves hope in first-half stoppage time through a Romelu Lukaku penalty after Jeremy Doku was shoved over in the box by Giovanni Di Lorenzo.

The Belgians had their moments in the second half, with Lukaku denied by some desperate last-ditch defending.

Doku fired over after a mazy run as the world’s top-ranked side piled on the pressure, but Italy held on to reach the semis for the sixth time.

Spain edge out valiant Swiss

Earlier on Friday, Spain, champions in 2008 and 2012, beat Switzerland 3-1 on penalties after their quarter-final tie in Saint Petersburg finished 1-1 at the end of extra time, with Mikel Oyarzabal scoring the winning kick.

Luis Enrique’s side appeared to be coasting as Jordi Alba’s shot deflected in off Denis Zakaria for an own goal to put Spain ahead in the eighth minute.

However, the Swiss had caused a sensation by eliminating world champions France in the last 16 and they battled back to equalise midway through the second half when a disastrous defensive mix-up between Spain centre-backs Aymeric Laporte and Pau Torres allowed Xherdan Shaqiri to score.

Switzerland then held on through extra time after midfielder Remo Freuler was sent off in the 77th minute for a challenge on Gerard Moreno.

They had converted all five of their penalties in the shoot-out against France and this time they were given a head-start when Sergio Busquets hit the post with Spain’s first effort.

Rodri also failed to score for Spain but Unai Simon saved from Fabian Schaer and Manuel Akanji before Ruben Vargas blazed over.

Virus concerns in Russia

Oyarzabal’s kick allowed Spain to go through and help banish the memory of their defeat on penalties in the last 16 of the 2018 World Cup against the hosts in Russia.

“Unai (Simon), I’ve seen him stop a lot of penalties with Athletic Bilbao, and I see him training with us… he’s a specialist,” said Spain boss Luis Enrique.

Friday’s game went ahead in Saint Petersburg despite major concerns about a surge in coronavirus cases in the Russian city, fuelled by the Delta variant.

Earlier on Friday, Russia reported 679 coronavirus deaths over the previous 24 hours, setting a pandemic high of fatalities for the fourth day in a row. Saint Petersburg recorded 101 deaths.

An attendance of almost 25,000 watched the game in the Krestovsky Stadium, which has welcomed some of the largest crowds permitted at this pandemic-affected European Championship.

The remaining quarter-finals will be played on Saturday, when England — fresh from beating Germany — play Ukraine in Rome.

England may not have many fans in the Stadio Olimpico due to Italian coronavirus rules which mean all arrivals from the United Kingdom have to quarantine for five days.

Denmark play the Czech Republic in Baku exactly three weeks on from Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest in the Danes’ first match at the tournament.

Eriksen was discharged from hospital less than a week after his collapse after having a defibrillator implanted to regulate his heart rate, and without him Kasper Hjulmand’s team have rallied to reach the last eight.

“We will play with the heart of Christian Eriksen. He is the heart of the team still and with that heart and without fear, we will try,” said Hjulmand.

(AFP)

Goalkeeper Unai Simon was the hero as Spain edged past 10-man Switzerland 3-1 on penalties on Friday to set up a Euro 2020 semi-final against either Belgium or Italy.

After a 1-1 draw in Saint Petersburg which saw the Swiss play for 43 minutes a man down, Simon made two saves in the shoot-out to help keep Spain’s bid for a record fourth European crown alive.

It was heartbreak for Switzerland, who were bidding for reach the semi-finals of a major tournament for the first time in their history.

Spain forged ahead early on when Denis Zakaria put through his own net, but Switzerland were the better side for long periods and Xherdan Shaqiri, standing in for the suspended Granit Xhaka as captain, equalised in the 68th minute.

The Swiss were reduced to 10 men with 13 minutes remaining, though, when midfielder Remo Freuler was controversially dismissed for a tackle on Gerard Moreno.

Switzerland goalkeeper Yann Sommer, the hero of the penalty shoot-out win over world champions France in the last 16, made a string of fine saves in extra time.

But Simon saved from Fabian Schaer and Manuel Akanji, while Ruben Vargas blazed over in a tense finale as Spain snuck through, with Mikel Oyarzabal smashing home the winning spot-kick.

Luis Enrique’s men will take on either Belgium or Italy, who meet in Munich later Friday, at Wembley on Tuesday.

After scoring 10 goals in their previous two matches, this was a return to the type of profligate performances which saw Spain draw their first two group games against Sweden and Poland.

But the 2008 and 2012 winners had made a dream start to this quarter-final, taking the lead in fortunate circumstances in only the eighth minute.

A corner was cleared only as far as Jordi Alba, whose left-footed volley was diverted past Sommer by Switzerland midfielder Zakaria, only playing in place of Xhaka.

It was the 10th own goal of Euro 2020, more than the other 15 editions combined.

Alvaro Morata wasted an excellent opportunity by heading too close to Sommer when unmarked, but then Switzerland started to grow into the game.

Silvan Widmer headed off target from a corner, before Steven Zuber thought he had won a penalty only to be flagged offside.

Spain coach Luis Enrique sent on Dani Olmo for Pablo Sarabia at half-time and the RB Leipzig man threatened inside 60 seconds, seeing his low volley well held by Sommer.

Zakaria came agonisingly close to making up for his earlier own goal when his header span narrowly wide.

Switzerland had an even better chance for a leveller in the 64th minute, as Shaqiri sparked a quick counter-attack which ended with Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon reacting well to keep out Zuber’s stabbed effort at his near post.

– Shaqiri strikes –

But the underdogs found the equaliser they deserved four minutes later, as Freuler latched onto a loose ball after a mix-up in the Spanish defence and squared for Shaqiri to slot into the far corner and score his third goal of the tournament.

The pattern of the game changed in the 77th minute though, when referee Michael Oliver gave Freuler his marching orders for a sliding challenge on Spanish substitute Moreno.

Switzerland managed to keep Spain at bay until the end of normal time with relative ease, but in the third minute of the additional half an hour Moreno should have put Spain back in front, only to miskick Alba’s cross wide from close range.

Switzerland were perhaps lucky not to have another man sent off shortly afterwards, when Widmer escaped a second yellow card for a cynical foul on Olmo.

Moreno somehow passed up another golden opportunity, denied at point-blank range by Sommer, before the Borussia Moenchengladbach stopper made an excellent diving save from Oyarzabal.

Sommer made eight saves in extra time alone, but his one in the shoot-out from Rodri was not enough, despite Sergio Busquets also hitting the post, as Switzerland missed three of their four penalties.

Source: AFP

The round of 16, which included two epic matches that went into extra time, ended on June 29. We now know who the eight quarter-finalists are – and world champions France are not among them.

It’s time for the Euro 2021 quarter-finals. While the round of 16 saw several favourites lose in shock defeats – France, Portugal and the Netherlands are all on their way home –eight teams remain in the running.

Belgium and Italy will be the big match of the final eight, while Switzerland will face Spain earlier on the same day. On Saturday, the Czech Republic will play against Denmark. The last knockout match will see England pitted against Ukraine.

Full schedule for the Euro 2021 quarter-finals

Friday 2 July:

Switzerland vs Spain, 6pm in St Petersburg.

Belgium vs Italy, 9pm in Munich.

Saturday 3 July:

Czech Republic vs Denmark, 6pm in Baku.

Ukraine vs England, 9pm in Rome.

Culled from France 24

Jose Mourinho’s era as Roma coach is set to begin with the Portuguese due to touch down in the Italian capital on Friday.

“AS Roma fans I’m about to pack my bags. See you soon,” Mourinho said in a video posted in English and Italian by the club on social media.

Mourinho is expected to arrive in the city in the afternoon.

The 58-year-old returns to Italy, where he left as a hero back in 2010 after leading Inter Milan to the treble — Champions League, Serie A and Coppa Italia.

Mourinho had only been out of work for 15 days after leaving Tottenham two months ago before his return to Serie A was announced on a three-year deal.

His departure from Spurs marked the first time since the early years of his managerial career in Portugal that the self-declared ‘Special One’ left a club without winning any silverware.

Mourinho has claimed 25 major trophies in his career and joins a club that hasn’t won Serie A since 2001.

As well as his triumphs with Inter he won the Champions League in 2004 and two Portuguese league titles with Porto, three Premier League titles with Chelsea and La Liga with Real Madrid in 2012.

He also led Manchester United to the Europa League in 2017.

In Rome, he replaces fellow Portuguese Paulo Fonseca who left the club after two seasons.

The three-time Italian champions, who are trophyless since 2008, finished seventh in Serie A last season.

Fonseca replaced Claudio Ranieri, who had a brief spell as coach after Eusebio Di Francesco was sacked in January 2019.

Di Francesco had guided the club to the Champions League semi-finals in 2018.

Source: AFP

FA Cup holders Leicester City have signed Patson Daka from Austrian side RB Salzburg, the Premier League club announced Wednesday.

The 22-year-old Zambia striker will join the Foxes on a five-year deal, subject to Premier League and international clearance.

“I’m so, so excited to join this great, historic club,” said Daka in a Leicester statement. “It has been my dream and I’m so happy and looking forward to what’s coming next.”

No fee has been disclosed by Leicester but British media reports have valued the deal at around £23 million ($32 million, 27 million euros).

Daka had a fine record at Salzburg, with 68 goals in 125 appearances and also helped them win four succesive league titles.

A potential long-term successor to Leicester star Jamie Vardy, he scored 27 goals in just 28 league appearances last season to finish as the Austrian Bundesliga’s top scorer.

“I have followed Leicester from the time they won the league (the Midlands club were English champions in the 2015/16 season),” Daka said.

“I feel it is the perfect place for me, because it’s a team that fights for titles. I know it’s not going to be easy, but I feel ready to face this new challenge.

“I will give my best for the club each and every day, and I look forward to seeing the Leicester City fans inside the stadium soon.”

Source: AFP