UEFA EURO 2020 Recap
After quite an eventful tournament, the UEFA EURO 2020 has finally come to an end. One of the many intense moments, includes the final where Italy and England went head-to-head in penalties. Factors such as a global pandemic and other controversies has made this edition one of the most unforgettable tournaments.
During the round of 16 there were many exciting matches to look forward to such as Belgium vs Portugal, England vs Germany, France vs Switzerland etc. One of the matches that gathered a lot of attention was the Netherlands vs Czech Republic, which was played in the Puskas Arena, Budapest. Around 10,000 fans were expected and Budapest was slowly turning orange hours before the match. As a supporting message for the LGBTQ+ community, many dutch fans brought rainbow flags to the game. However, before the game started, security guards were ordered to collect all rainbow flags without giving any explanation to the schocked fans. Shortly after, the UEFA came with a statement saying that it is not allowed for fans to make political statements during the tournament. The statement was quickly revoked, allowing Dutch fans to bring the flag into the stadium.
After England’s defeat during Sunday’s Final, many players received racial abuse on social media. 3 of the 5 penalty takers yesterday missed their penalty from the England team. Rashford, Saka and Sancho all received racial abuse on their social media after missing their penalty in the penalty shoot-out. The 19-year old Bukaya Saka was one of the stars on the England team this tournament, the player received a lot of hate for his missed penalty.
The Prime Minister of England, Boris Johnson has reacted to the racist abuse which the England players received. He has condemned the “appalling” racist abuse and have also ordered to open an investigation.
We would like to thank everyone for making the EUROS 2020 a memorable event, and we are looking forward to the upcoming football season!