Piers Morgan has shared the love for footballer Bukayo Saka after he broke his silence following England’s defeat at the Euros 2020.
Saka, 19, was one of the England squad to miss a penalty in the final against Italy.
While many fans have thrown their support behind him, he has also faced horrific racist abuse online, along with teammates Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho.
In a statement following the match, Saka apologised for missing the penalty, and called on social media companies to do more to combat racism on online platforms.
Responding to his message, former Good Morning Britain host Piers wrote: ‘Bukayo, no apology necessary.
‘When I was 19, the most stressful sporting thing I did was try (& fail) to break the speed record for drinking a pint upside down in front of 50 villagers in my pub. You stepped up in front of 500m+ people. That took incredible guts. Proud of you.’
Match of the Day star and former footballer Ian Wright added: ‘Love you.’
‘My reaction post-match said it all, I was hurting so much and I felt like I’d let you all and my England family down, but I can promise you this: I will not let that moment or the negativity that I’ve received this week break me.
‘For those who have campaigned on my behalf and sent me heartfelt letters, wished me and my family well – I’m so thankful. This is what football should be about. Passion, people of all races, genders, religions and backgrounds coming together with one shared joy of the rollercoaster of football.
‘To the social media platforms Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, I don’t want any child or adult to have to receive the hateful and hurtful messages that me, Marcus and Jadon have received this week.
‘I knew instantly the kind of hate that I was about to receive and that is a sad reality that your powerful platforms are not doing enough to stop these messages.
‘There is no place for racism or hate of any kind in football or in any area of society and to the majority of people coming together to call out the people sending these messages, by taking action and reporting these comments to the police and by driving out the hate by being kind to one another, we will win. Love always wins.’
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