Gareth Southgate says the racial abuse suffered by Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford after they missed penalties in the Euro 2020 final adds “another layer of difficulty” to preparations for shootouts at major tournaments.
All three players were subjected to racial slurs after Italy’s win at Wembley and Southgate admitted that it may create an unwelcome hurdle in planning for this winter’s World Cup. It was put to the England manager that the fear of being abused may run through players’ minds before taking spot-kicks and he said it was a potential scenario he would take seriously, even though he does not intend it to impact on his selection of takers.
