Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho were subjected to online racist abuse in July 2021. This happened after they missed their spot kicks against Italy in the Euro 2020 final. And months later, something similar happened- and 19-year old Anthony Elanga was the victim this time.
Anthony Elanga Becomes Victim of Online Racist Abuse After Missing Crucial Penalty
Anthony Elanga Needs Support and Encouragement, Not Condemnation
Manchester United were knocked out of the league cup by West Ham United in September 2021. They currently sit 4th on the Premier League table- 19 points below first-placed Manchester City. The FA Cup was perhaps their most realistic chance of winning a trophy in the 2021/22 season. So they went into the game against Middlesbrough, hoping for a win. However, after they were held to a 1-1 draw, they lost 8-7 on penalties. Elanga was the only one who failed to convert from the spot during shoot-out. Cristiano Ronaldo was seen consoling him after his miss- and surely that was what the youngster needed most at the moment.
However, it was quite sad that the Swedish winger received online racist abuse as a result of his penalty miss. Well, according to reports, many of the racist comments have been removed. Concerning the issue, Clinton Morrison of Sky Sports said;
“No young man goes up to take a penalty and means to miss it. He’s been good for them, and has stood up for them over the last few weeks. It infuriates me – what is the point of someone racially abusing Elanga? The kid was devastated when he came off, he already knows he’s missed a crucial penalty. But don’t talk about the colour of his skin. We are all human beings here. We’re all together. Once he crosses that white line, he’s trying to give 100 per cent. What do people do? They go and pick on the youngster because of the colour of his skin.”
Morrison went on to say;
“I’m sick and tired of it.”
David De Gea and Marcus Rashford both took to Twitter to show support for their teammate. Elanga is only 19 and made it to the senior team through the youth ranks in 2021. All he needs is support and encouragement, not condemnation of any kind.
Main Image Credit Embed from Getty Images
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