Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount has heaped praise on Tottenham fans for their support of Bukayo Saka, who suffered racial abuse during England’s Euro 2020 campaign.
The 19-year-old was part of a trio of England players who missed a penalty, alongside Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, as England narrowly lost out in the final to Italy.
Crucially, Saka was placed on the decisive spot-kick and was the recipient of horrendous racial abuse on social media directly after his penalty was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
But football has recently shown its unifying side, with fans of clubs all around England coming together to show their solidarity for Saka, applauding and giving standing ovations to the youngster.
Spurs fans showed their support during their pre-season friendly against Arsenal with a banner and made sure to put aside their bitter differences to applaud Saka as he entered the field of play as a substitute.
These acts have drawn the respect of Chelsea star Mount, who says it ‘gives you hope’ to see such support, even through bitter rivalries.
He said: “It’s not acceptable for someone to go through something like that.
“Straight after the game all of us got round the boys and tried to console them. You could see on their faces how much it meant to them.
“Then I look at what has happened since. The games he has played in since.
“To play away at Tottenham in pre-season and see him get a standing ovation when he came on . . . and at Brentford, too.
“That is what football’s about. Everyone coming together to get behind someone like Saks, one of the best guys I have met in football. That is special. It gives you hope.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Racism has no place anywhere, and removing it from society means so much more than a simple football rivalry. Fans of clubs around England have demonstrated tremendous support to Saka, Rashford and Sancho to condemn the horrible responses they received when they were simply doing their best to make the country they represent proud.
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