Whenever the World Cup approaches, eyes are usually on England to see how far they can go in the tournament.
The Three Lions have been blessed with talent down the years such as Gary Lineker, David Beckham, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, the long list is goes on.
These were players that lit up the Premier League, the most-watched football league in the world and it was only natural to see them impress on the international stage. Sadly, these players with all their qualities underwhelmed at major tournaments.
The earlier-listed names are considered the golden generation of England and for them to have not lived up to expectations raised questions on whether England will ever get to win another major international tournament aside the 1966 World Cup on home soil.
There was a bit of renewed hope when England reached the 2018 World Cup semi-finals in Russia, the first time they had gotten to such a stage since 1990. It was followed by reaching the Euro 2020 final but lost on penalties to Italy at Wembley. That final will be remembered for being marred by racist abuse targeted at Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho who missed their spot kicks during the shootout. They were seen as the villains who denied the Euro title from “coming home”, a slang common among English fans and media in anticipation of winning a trophy.
The English FA and other relevant media and personalities were quick to condemn the abuse targeted at the above-mentioned trio and resolved to tackle the the problem by putting in place incentives that educate fans to embrace diversity and inclusion. While these are very good steps, it does not take away the reality of subtle racist tones still existing in the British media.
At the ongoing 2022 World Cup, Saka – who is of Nigerian descent – and Rashford have been the stars of the Three Lions, both players scoring three goals apiece. While they were celebrated when the going was good like in the 6-2 bashing of Iran and the 3-0 victory over Wales, they have been seemingly been painted in bad light for the defeat to France in the quarter-finals at the weekend which ended their journey in Qatar.
The 2-1 loss at Al Bayt Stadium could have been avoided had Harry Kane converted his 84th minute penalty kick . He however played it over crossbar and rather than give the Tottenham Hotspur forward stick for throwing away that golden opportunity, it was rather Rashford getting stick for missing a free kick from 25-yards deep in injury time. Blaming Rashford is rather bizzare considering the Manchester United forward has had good impact with few minutes (137 minutes) on the pitch in Qatar, including just five minutes against France, compared to Kane – (403 minutes, including complete 90 minutes three times) – who by his high standards should have netted more than two goals in Qatar
During England’s six-goal thriller against Iran in the group stage, Saka was the Man of the Match with his brace but awkwardly, it was Jack Grealish who scored the sixth with a simple tap in that was on the cover of some of the major British newspapers the following morning.
This is a clear example of institutional racism that still exists within English football and it calls into question whether all that is being done to tackle the malaise is actually bearing fruit when entities within the system are pushing and promoting racist agenda. How does that help in educating and reorientating fans?
This is a rather sad tale for players of African descent who have put in a lot to get to where they are despite racist attitudes towards them. They keep pushing and breaking barriers but it seems there is a deliberate intention to not recognise or applaud their efforts even in the face of defeat.
It does not speak well of English football and what it stands to promote to a global audience that keenly follows all that happens there.
If the British government, English FA, Premier League, English Football League and all other relevant bodies are really keen to root out racist attitudes, then they must tackle it from the very root otherwise it will continue to be a vain effort and players will only continue to suffer despite sacrificing their all for a country they call home.
