The government did not back
England players when fans booed them for taking the knee and now faces the consequences
So, as the prime minister has learned, a week is a long time in football. He and Priti Patel began it grinning in their crisp new England shirts, seeking kudos for their politics from a triumph in Europe just months after they took
Britain out of the
European Union. Instead, the
racism that rained on England’s young black players following defeat on penalties on Sunday meant Johnson and Patel were finally confronted with consequences of the green light they gave to racism before the tournament started.
One senior
Football figure told me there was “deep outrage” in the game about Johnson and Patel backing the fans who booed England players taking a knee, describing it as “the deepest insult”, evoking the most shameful period of racism in football. For the first time, a government saw an advantage for itself from siding with racists rather than supporting those who have worked for decades to kick racism out.