Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton condemns racist abuse of England footballers: Our humanity should not be conditional

Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has condemned racist insults against England players after their defeat in the Euro 2020 final, calling the attacks on social networks “unacceptable”.

Hamilton, who has always been vocal against racism in sports, took to social media to slam the section of English fans who have been trolling and abusing black players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka for missing their penalties in the title clash against Italy at the Wembley Stadium on Sunday.

England went on to lose 3-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra time in London. Italy lifted the Euro trophy for the second time after winning it first on home soil in 1968.

Hamilton said that the abuse suffered by the England trio showed how much still needed to be done in the fight against racism.

“So much was running through my mind as a watched the final moments of the match last night. 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,” Hamilton wrote in a lengthy post on Instagram on Monday.

Twitter said it had removed more than 1,000 tweets and permanently suspended a number of accounts following the “abhorrent” abuse directed at the players, while Facebook said it had also removed abusive comments and accounts.