Authorities to Launch Investigation into Online Racist Abuse Aimed at Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka During Euro 2024

The police are set to investigate the online racist abuse directed at England football stars Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham during Euro 2024. According to a UEFA report referenced by the Football Association (FA), both players were major victims of serious online abuse throughout the tournament.

The FA has taken decisive steps to address this issue, including allocating approximately £25,000 to aid in prosecutions related to online abuse of their players.

The Online Safety Act enables authorities to intervene in cases of online abuse, and the police have been made aware of the horrific messages sent to Saka and Bellingham.

As per the report, Saka received the most 'tier one' comments, which are classified by UEFA as "the most harmful and recognized as a candidate for prosecution according to law." Racist abuse falls under this category. Specifically, Saka was subjected to 50 tier one comments, while Bellingham received 40.

This isn't the first time Saka has faced such abuse. He also encountered severe racial backlash following the Euro 2020 final against Italy. Mark Roberts, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for football policing, stated, "We were conscious after events at the Euros (2020) when there was horrific abuse of some of our black players. So we responded to that, we did investigations and we were able to prosecute some people arising from that."

Roberts further emphasized the importance of proactive measures: "What we were very keen to do was to speak to the squad and make sure they are aware that we are committed to this, we treat it seriously and advise them how to protect themselves. But equally, it is better if you can deal with something in advance rather than after the event to try and explain what we can do."