Lewis Hamilton has hit out at the racist abuse suffered by three players on the England national team following their defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 Final. The Three Lions took an early lead at Wembley, however the match was ultimately decided by a penalty shootout with the likes of Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, who are all Black, missing their spot kicks. All three were subjected to racist abuse online on Monday, with Hamilton stating the abuse shows how much more needs to be done in the fight to end racism. "So much was running through my mind as a watched the final moments of the match last night," Hamilton wrote on his Instagram account. "On one hand I was so proud of how far we have come ...to be in the final and with such a diverse team is a huge achievement we should all be proud of but as the players stepped up to take the penalties I was worried. "The pressure to deliver is felt by every sportsperson but when you are a minority representing your country this is a layered experience. Success would feel like a double victory, but a miss feels like a two-fold failure when its compounded with racist abuse. I so badly wanted that win like all of you but for me it was for much more than winning the Euros, it was a much bigger picture. "However, the disgusting behaviour by the few, shows how much work that still needs to be done. I hope that this opens a conversation around acceptance. We must work towards a society that doesn’t require Black players to prove their value or place in society only through victory. Ultimately everyone on the England team should be so proud of their achievement and how they represented us."
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View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lewis Hamilton (@lewishamilton)
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