Jude Bellingham is leading the latest generation of young Black players coming to terms with the game’s inability to protect them from racism.
Despite being one of the most coveted players in world football, Borussia Dortmund’s England midfielder has already been forced - at just 18 - to grapple with the kind of hate his mum Denise and weary players far older have had to endure for decades. Now, for the first time since last summer’s European Championship, Bellingham has opened up on his shock at seeing the abuse aimed at then-fellow teen Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho, 21 at the time and 24-year-old Marcus Rashford, after their missed penalties in the final.
“You look at the run into that final and you felt as though the country had united,” Bellingham said, recalling the growing momentum around the national team at the time. “Then as soon as they missed a penalty, they were not English, just black. Anyone can miss a penalty. Anyone can make a mistake in their line of work. But to be criticised like that should never happen. They are human.
