The English Football Association (FA) has announced a new initiative to fund police efforts aimed at clamping down on online abuse during Euro 2024. This move comes in response to the racial abuse faced by Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, and Jadon Sancho on social media following their missed penalties in the Euro 2021 final against Italy.
The FA has committed around £25,000 ($32,000) to support a dedicated police unit that will focus on prosecuting individuals responsible for online abuse. This is a significant step up from the previous approach, where the FA provided data to the police to aid in prosecutions.
FA Chief Executive Mark Bullingham stated, “Now we are doing things differently. In the past what we did was put together all the data, effectively an evidence pack, to give to the police to prosecute, but this time we have gone a stage further where we are actually funding within the British Police a unit that will then prosecute.”
The FA’s initiative underscores its commitment to protecting players from abuse and ensuring that offenders are brought to justice. The funding will enhance the police’s capacity to identify and prosecute those who engage in online abuse, especially during high-profile events like Euro 2024.
