England’s World Cup stars have suffered vile racism online, which Sir Sadiq Khan has said is “out of control”. Offensive social media messages were posted about Premier League title-winning Arsenal wingers Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke, Tottenham Hotspur full-back Jed Spence and Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham. @_UTD_Mickey’s post read, “Saka, come out now, N*****!!” @king18347532 suggested he was “so overrated” and called the forward a “f****** n*****”. Another post by @tapera_david suggests that Spence is “trying hard to please his master.” And the paper called him a “typical house N*****” who “doesn’t belong to Jamaica or Kenya, but instead tricked the British into becoming British.”
@PaddyLeven called Bellingham a “black asshole.” “He needs a good fucking kick in the asshole,” the account added. In another post from @king18347532, Maduke was told to “fuck off soccer!!” The Mayor of London told X: ‘Someone has to say it.
“The amount of racism directed at World Cup players (including England) on this platform is out of control. We cannot allow a minority of vile voices to divide our country.
“Much of this content is illegal and Ofcom must investigate. We stand in solidarity with all the players who have been targeted. We are united.”
This comes after social media personality Angry Ginji said he had been criticized online for “standing against racism” during England’s group game against Ghana.
The I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here winner, whose real name is Morgan Birtwistle, said she lobbied stewards to remove the man she accused of making racist remarks from Boston Stadium, but they failed to act.
This “is not enough,” he added. He later said in an Instagram post: “This is what standing up against racism leads to? What a world we live in.”
England face Mexico in the Round of 16 in Mexico City at 1am on Monday. Pubs are allowed to stay open until 5am to allow fans to enjoy the match.
If the Three Lions win, they will face either Brazil or Norway.
