British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Wednesday (July 14) his intention to exclude fans who have used racist slurs against online players from stadiums. The statement comes after those attacks targeted three black players from England’s squad.

Following the Euro Cup final, lost by England to Italy on Sunday at Wembley, Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford had been the target of a torrent of racist attacks on social media. These behaviors had been unanimously denounced by the government and sports authorities.

“I strongly condemn the racist outbreaks we witnessed on Sunday night.”Boris Johnson told deputies. “So what we are doing today is taking practical steps to ensure that the prohibition regime [de stade] changes so that if you are guilty of racist slurs against footballers online, you will not be able to attend the game. No buts, no exemptions and no excuses “announced the Conservative leader.

A petition with more than a million signatures

This prohibition regime was created in 1989 to prevent riots caused by English hooligans during matches. The Boris Johnson government was under pressure to act, following a call from Labor, the main opposition party, for such an extension of the ban on racism online, while a internet request calling for a lifetime ban has already collected more than a million signatures.

Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford, who entered at the end of Sunday’s game at Wembley Stadium in London, had missed penalties. These missed shots sealed England’s defeat by Italy, shattering the dream of an entire country hoping to clinch a second major title, fifty-five years after their home triumph in the 1966 World Cup.

Changing the stadium ban regime is “Complex”, because some of the perpetrators are abroad, explained Victoria Atkins, Secretary of State for the Home Office, in the lower house of Parliament. “We are looking forward to working with football clubs and others to make sure these orders have the powers that we want them to have.”she added.

The government itself has been accused of hypocrisy, including by the Labor Party, for refusing to condemn supporters who boo the Three Lions when they kneel to denounce racism. A teammate of the three footballers, Tyrone Mings, had also accused the Minister of the Interior, Priti Patel, of having “Stirred the fire”. Boris Johnson defended himself: “We were very clear that no one should boo the England team”.

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister hosted representatives from social media companies such as Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram in Downing Street. The ruler told them to have “It very clearly meant that we are going to legislate to respond to this problem.”, in reference to a new bill on online security. “If they don’t remove hate and racism from their platforms, they face fines of up to 10% of their global revenue.”, hammer.

Greater Manchester Police announced Wednesday the arrest of a 37-year-old man, for posting racist comments on social media after Sunday’s final. He turned himself in to the police.