Jadon Sancho has revealed his pain after missing a penalty against Italy in the final of Euro 2020, before going on to slam the vile abuse received by both himself and his teammates on social media in the aftermath of the game.
England came within inches of being crowned European champions for the first time in their history last Sunday, but once again they suffered the heartbreak of penalty shootout failure.
Despite the majority of the country showing support for Sancho, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford following their penalty misses, a number of vile racist comments were sent to the trio following England's defeat.
Sancho has refused to ignore the comments, telling anyone who has received similar abuse to hold their head up high before expressing his pride at representing his country.
"I’m not going pretend that I didn’t see the racial abuse that me and my brothers Marcus [Rashford] and Bukayo [Saka] received after the game, but sadly it's nothing new," he added. "As a society we need to do better, and hold these people accountable. Hate will never win.
"To all the young people who have received similar abuse, hold your heads up high and keep chasing the dream. I am proud of this England team and how we have united the whole nation in what has been a difficult 18 months for so many people.
"Much as we wanted to win the tournament, we will build and learn from this experience going forward. I want to say a massive thank you for all the positive messages and love and support that far outweighed the negative.
"It’s been an honour as always representing England and wearing the Three Lions shirt and I have no doubt we’ll be back even stronger! Stay safe and see you soon."
Source : 90min