'It starts at the top': Gary Neville calls out Boris Johnson over racist abuse of England players

Gary Neville has criticised the prime minister after three Black England players were subjected to racist abuse after the Euro 2020 final.

The racist abuse aimed at Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, who all missed penalties in the shootout defeat to Italy on Sunday, has been condemned by Boris Johnson.

But former Manchester United and England player Neville, now a pundit for ITV and Sky, said the prime minister’s previous comments on racism before the tournament had a negative impact.

Initially, Johnson had refused to condemn England fans who booed players for taking a knee before matches, although a few days later, as the Euros began, his official spokesman said the prime minister wanted people to “cheer them on, not boo”.

Earlier in the tournament, home secretary Priti Patel labelled taking a knee as “gesture politics”, and refused to condemn those who booed the players, saying it was a “choice for them”.

On Monday, after the three players’ social media pages were flooded with racial abuse, Neville said: “It starts at the very top.

“[England manager] Gareth Southgate and the players a few weeks ago, about five days on the trot, told us they were taking the knee to promote equality and it was against racism.

“The prime minister said it was okay for the population of this country to boo those players who were trying to promote equality and defend against racism.

“I wasn’t surprised in the slightest that I woke up this morning to those headlines, I expected it the minute the three players that missed missed.”

While Neville said those who posted racist abuse must take personal responsibility for their actions, he told Sky News: “If your parents do something, your children will follow.”

Neville added: “There is an issue obviously in football, there is an issue in society where we feel it’s acceptable basically to criticise players for sporting actions because of the colour of their skin.

“People are being abused and it’s absolutely ridiculous in 2021 that we’re still talking about this, but we are.”

Following the racist abuse of Rashford, Sancho and Saka, Johnson said on Monday: “This England team deserve to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media.

“Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.”

Patel also tweeted: “I am disgusted that England players who have given so much for our country this summer have been subject to vile racist abuse on social media.

“It has no place in our country and I back the police to hold those responsible accountable.”

The Metropolitan Police also condemned the “unacceptable” abuse, adding it will be investigating the “offensive and racist” social media posts.

The force said: “We are aware of a number of offensive and racist social media comments being directed towards footballers following the Euro 2020 final.

“This abuse is totally unacceptable, it will not be tolerated and it will be investigated.”

Watch: Boris Johnson condemns racist abuse of England players