PSA: #ThreeBlackLions

In the wake of England’s Euro 2020 penalty defeat against Italy, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were subject to extreme levels of online racial abuse. Over the past week, the nation has condemned the racism through an outpouring of support for the trio, yet the actions and inactions of national leaders say otherwise. In June of this year, Priti Patel The UK Home Secretary, gave fans the right to boo the national team for taking the knee against racism labelling it as 'gesture politics'. Condemning racism against footballers whilst also condemning footballers protesting racism is a paradox that continues to perpetuate racist and xenophobic attitudes across the nation. With the 2022 World Cup looming, it’s more important than ever for the nation to take a stand not only in the game, but across the country. That’s why today, VIRTUE, the creative agency born from VICE, have launched #ThreeBlackLions a petition to turn the National symbol of the game into a stand against racism. The aim is to galvanise national and international support, mounting pressure on The FA and Boris Johnson to make the change ahead of England's run in the 2022 World Cup.