• After a 1-1 draw between the two sides, Italy defeated England in a penalty shoot-out in the 2020 European Cup final.
• England players Marcus Rashford, Jaden Sancho and Bucayo Saka, all black, missed the penalty.
• The FA said: “We will do our best to support the players affected, and at the same time urge the severest punishment of anyone responsible.”

The Football Association of England (FA) issued a statement on Monday condemning English football players who missed a penalty in the Euro 2020 final against Italy on Sunday night for being racist online.

The two sides drew 1-1 in overtime. Italy won 3-2 in the penalty shootout. England players Marcus Rashford, Sancho and Bucayo Saka were all Black and lacked penalty kicks.

The statement said: “The FA strongly condemns all forms of discrimination and is shocked by the online racism against some of our English players on social media.”

“We are very aware that anyone behind this disgusting behavior is not welcome to follow the team. We will do everything we can to support the players affected, while urging anyone responsible for the harshest punishment.”

The England team also issued a statement condemning the abuse of its players on social media.

The team wrote on Twitter: “We are disgusted with some of our teams-who have done everything for this jersey this summer-have suffered discriminatory abuse online after tonight’s game.”

British police said they will investigate these posts.

“We are aware of some offensive and racist social media comments against football players after the #Euro2020 finals,” the Metropolitan Police wrote on Twitter.

“Such abuse is totally unacceptable, will not be tolerated, and will be investigated.”

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan called on social media companies to remove such content from his platform.

Khan said in a tweet: “Those who are responsible for the disgusting online abuse we see must be held accountable-social media companies need to take immediate action to eliminate and prevent this hatred.”