Estate agency Savills, where a man who hurled racist abuse at England players after their Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy is believed to work, has launched an investigation.
The prime minister has condemned the “appalling” racist abuse of players on social media after their defeat on Sunday night.
Boris Johnson said the team deserve to be hailed as “heroes” following the Three Lions’ loss to Italy and not subjected to hatred online, adding that those who sent abuse should be “ashamed of themselves”.
The Football Association also issued a statement saying it is “appalled”, while the Metropolitan Police vowed to investigate.
Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka all failed from the spot on Sunday night as England went down on penalties.
The trio’s social media pages were quickly flooded with racist comments, leading the prime minister and the FA to condemn the “disgusting behaviour”.
One of those who targeted the England stars appears to work for Savills, according to his Twitter bio – which he has since changed, deleting the abusive tweets in the process.
In a statement this morning, the estate agent said: “Savills is committed to eliminating discrimination and encouraging diversity amongst our workforce. A full investigation will be carried out in regards to this unacceptable incident.
“Savills abhors and has zero tolerance to any form of racism and racial discrimination and is appalled by the racist comments in these tweets. Savills is immediately investigating and will take appropriate action”
Savills is committed to eliminating discrimination and encouraging diversity amongst our workforce. A full investigation will be carried out in regards to this unacceptable incident.
— Savills (@Savills) July 12, 2021
Johnson tweeted on Monday morning: “This England team deserve to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media. Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.”
Meanwhile Priti Patel, the home secretary, said she is “disgusted” by the “vile” racist abuse players were subjected to.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden tweeted that he “shared the anger” of the “appalling racist abuse” towards the “heroic” players.
Both the prime minister and Patel have previously described the action of footballers taking the knee to highlight racial inequality and discrimination as “gestures”.
We’re disgusted that some of our squad – who have given everything for the shirt this summer – have been subjected to discriminatory abuse online after tonight’s game.
— England (@England) July 12, 2021
We stand with our players ❤️ https://t.co/1Ce48XRHEl
Following the abuse towards players on Sunday, an FA spokesman said: “The FA strongly condemns all forms of discrimination and is appalled by the online racism that has been aimed at some of our England players on social media.
“We could not be clearer that anyone behind such disgusting behaviour is not welcome in following the team. We will do all we can to support the players affected while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible.
“We will continue to do everything we can to stamp discrimination out of the game, but we implore Government to act quickly and bring in the appropriate legislation so this abuse has real life consequences.
“Social media companies need to step up and take accountability and action to ban abusers from their platforms, gather evidence that can lead to prosecution and support making their platforms free from this type of abhorrent abuse.”
Scotland Yard also condemned the “unacceptable” abuse, adding that they will be investigating the “offensive and racist” social media posts.
Related: England players subjected to racist abuse after final defeat
