Politics
Home secretary Priti Patel has been called out by footballer Tyrone Mings after she attempted to condemn the racist abuse of England players after their Euro 2020 final defeat against Italy.
In a tweet to her followers, Patel described how she felt “disgusted” at the fact that some of the players have been “subject to vile racist abuse on social media.”
“It has no place in our country and I back the police to hold those responsible accountable,” she added.
I am disgusted that @England players who have given so much for our country this summer have been subject to vile r… https://t.co/8J3BruMz9h— Priti Patel (@Priti Patel) 1626074088
But many say her stance reeks of hypocrisy, after previously refusing to criticise fans who booed the England team for the “gesture politics” of taking the knee in protest against racial inequality.
“That’s a choice for them [fans] quite frankly,” she told broadcaster GB News just last month.
She added: “I just don’t support people participating in that type of gesture politics.”
She declined to answer whether she would boo the England team herself, saying: “I’ve not gone to a football match to even contemplate that.”
Perhaps the most vocal criticism of the home secretary’s comments came from the Aston Villa defender who wrote: “You don’t get to stoke the fire at the beginning of the tournament by labelling our anti-racism message as ‘Gesture Politics’ & then pretend to be disgusted when the very thing we’re campaigning against, happens.”
You don’t get to stoke the fire at the beginning of the tournament by labelling our anti-racism message as ‘Gesture… https://t.co/UaDXRqFpv2— Tyrone Mings (@Tyrone Mings) 1626115084
Mings, who isn’t afraid of voicing his opinion and taking a stance (Mings took part in Black Lives Matter protests last year) has been widely praised from across the sport and media landscape for his response to Patel and standing up to politicians.
@OfficialTM_3 Bang on. I’m also annoyed at the fact we have been kneeling for a year and racism still disgustingly… https://t.co/gXMO2uCt4D— Eniola Aluko (@Eniola Aluko) 1626118292
@OfficialTM_3 Top bins— Tez (@Tez) 1626119099
@OfficialTM_3 Incredible— Nish Kumar (@Nish Kumar) 1626118032
Give Mings BBC Sports Personality of the Year for that tweet.— amar singh (@amar singh) 1626128556
Absolutely 1 million percent. 🙌🏻 https://t.co/PLkLansy6G— Ralf Little 💙 (@Ralf Little 💙) 1626128961
People saying it’s rare to see an athlete taking on a politician so directly, but they should realise that for Ming… https://t.co/xkV5S9IyNG— tariq panja (@tariq panja) 1626128111
Well said, Tyrone. https://t.co/wbIWAHrrx1— Henry Winter (@Henry Winter) 1626124240
Rare to see a footballer taking on a senior government minister so directly https://t.co/vgwOtzWiFW— Jon Sopel (@Jon Sopel) 1626122254
Don't even care if the reincarnations of Baresi and Beckenbauer suddenly emerge, give Tyrone Mings a hundred more c… https://t.co/WNpow2G49S— Grace Robertson 🏳️⚧️ (@Grace Robertson 🏳️⚧️) 1626126022
Boris Johnson and Priti Patel were clearly betting on the fact that the England team wouldn’t directly call out the… https://t.co/US7YYUbXKy— Sam Bright (@Sam Bright) 1626127024
Even people who don’t support England couldn’t help but praise Mings’ words.
It’s fair to say that I’m happy England lost that final, but it will never be down to the players in that squad. Th… https://t.co/vXFqP6uzzw— Robert Borthwick (@Robert Borthwick) 1626121187
👏👏👏👏👏 While delighted they lost (sorry Tyrone, mush) every single member of this England squad is so hugely impress… https://t.co/1uSED4kqRO— Barry Glendenning (@Barry Glendenning) 1626121024
Conservative Plymouth Moor View MP Johnny Mercer, a former defence minister, said of Mings’ tweet: “The painful truth is that this guy is completely right. Very uncomfortable with the position we Conservatives are needlessly forcing ourselves into.
“Do I fight it or stay silent? Modern Conservatism was always so much more to me. We must not lose our way.”
Taking the knee, a symbol of anti-racism solidarity, gained attention in American football in 2016 as players protested against police brutality and racism in the US.
On BBC Breakfast Tory MP Stephen Barclay was asked whether it was wrong of Patel to call taking the knee ‘gesture politics.’ He replied that ultimately the government and football’s goal is to eradicate the “scourge of racism.”
On #BBCBreakfast Stephen Barclay MP is challenged on whether the Home Secretary was wrong to call taking the knee '… https://t.co/sN2Ip8BL8V— BBC Breakfast (@BBC Breakfast) 1626159865
Plenty of people had been quick to respond to Patel’s initial tweet, which came hours after the match, which saw Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka racially abused on social media for missing penalties in the shootout.
@pritipatel @England I’ve been keeping the receipts https://t.co/avnxTa3cFC— Nic Keaney (@Nic Keaney) 1626074217
This you? https://t.co/kSqNV10T16 https://t.co/BTJpOX9SRq— Richard Buxton (@Richard Buxton) 1626076876
@pritipatel @England Take the knee— ALASTAIR CAMPBELL (@ALASTAIR CAMPBELL) 1626074152
@pritipatel @England You played your part, stoking the flames when they were taking a knee. You’re a disgrace to British Asians.— Rahul Kohli (@Rahul Kohli) 1626079500
You lied about why our players take the knee and defended the racists who booed them. Give your head a wobble. https://t.co/3YvxMIeoFX— James Oh Brien (@James Oh Brien) 1626078289
Surely there can’t be a single person who thinks any of these words mean anything coming from your mouth. Do us all… https://t.co/wCCjVg4L3R— James Brittain-McVey (@James Brittain-McVey) 1626079643
When you told fans that it’s ok to boo England players taking the knee, you blew the dog whistle. The dogs came. An… https://t.co/gmZTwT7HyN— Prof Tanja Bueltmann (@Prof Tanja Bueltmann) 1626077939
This is rich coming from you tbh this is the environment that *you* fostered. https://t.co/QPBmD4S7uv— Ash (@Ash) 1626077494
When you say it’s fine to boo players taking a stance against racism, when your policies pander to racists and inci… https://t.co/Vq4QETnTiA— David Schneider (@David Schneider) 1626075469
Labour MPs Dawn Butler and David Lammy had also criticised Patel and asked why she encouraged fans to boo the players for taking the knee if she is so appalled with the abuse they’re receiving.
Lammy has also called for Patel to apologise for encouraging fans to boo the Three Lions for taking the knee.
If you believe this why do you encourage it in almost everything you say and do. https://t.co/5c74YH1vzg— Dawn Butler MP✊🏾💙 (@Dawn Butler MP✊🏾💙) 1626079568
Good. Better late than never. Now apologise for encouraging fans to boo our players for taking the knee. https://t.co/6jNIvyxti1— David Lammy (@David Lammy) 1626078180
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner also didn’t mince her words when comparing prime minister Boris Johnson and Priti Patel to “arsonists complaining about a fire they poured petrol on.”
Let me be clear. The Prime Minister and the Home Secretary gave license to the racists who booed the England player… https://t.co/V3T3fkVNRJ— Angela Rayner (@Angela Rayner) 1626077646
While others highlighted that the torrent of abuse the players have received is one of the reasons why the squad take the knee in the first place.
Yeah, they should protest about it in some way…any ideas? https://t.co/sX3YL0o0zU— Dom Joly (@Dom Joly) 1626079878
THIS IS WHY THEY TAKE THE KNEE. https://t.co/uKf1rWYkDq— Hannah Al-Othman (@Hannah Al-Othman) 1626077860
If only there was a widely recognised symbolic gesture that people could do to show they were against racism https://t.co/2W0TC5tePd— Zing Tsjeng (@Zing Tsjeng) 1626078847
This is so interesting because the whole premise of players “taking the knee” was to send just this message. An act… https://t.co/2KeHWm07lG— Richie Brave (@Richie Brave) 1626083768
If only there was some kind of unified gesture we could all back that shows that we take racism seriously https://t.co/FQIJ0Mqseu— Robyn (@Robyn) 1626082946
Elsewhere, Johnson also condemned the racist abused by so-called “fans” on Twitter.
He described the abuse as “appalling” and said those responsible “should be ashamed of themselves.”
This England team deserve to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media. Those responsible for this… https://t.co/W0BqsKrTSD— Boris Johnson (@Boris Johnson) 1626069734
But former Manchester United and England player Gary Neville called on Johnson to take a tougher stance, also suggesting he was guilty of hypocrisy.
“The prime minister said it was ok for the population of this country to boos those players who are trying to promote equality and defend against racism,” he told Sky News.
“It starts at the very top.”
"It starts at the very top." Former footballer @GNev2 says has called on Boris Johnson to take a tougher stance on… https://t.co/Rtbn6Tsqxm— Sky News (@Sky News) 1626078093
At the time of writing, Mings’s response to Patel has been retweeted more than 130,000 times and received more than 390,000 likes.
Patel declined to comment on his tweet.
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