TWITTER removed more than 1,900 racist and abusive tweets targeting England’s black footballers in the wake of England's Euro 2020 final defeat, the social media giant said on Tuesday (10).
Soon after England lost to Italy, footballers Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were racially abused online after missing penalties in the shootout against Italy at Wembley last month.
Now, the social media giant said it had identified and removed 1,622 tweets during the final and in the 24 hours after the game - rising to 1,961 three days after the game.
“There is no place for racist abuse on Twitter and we are determined to do all we can to stop these abhorrent views and behaviours from being seen on our platform,” media reported quoted Twitter.
'We can do better. We fully acknowledge our responsibility to ensure the service is safe - not just for the football community, but for all users.”
Twitter also claimed that the majority of the abusive tweets were sent from the UK - though police reported that almost four times more of the criminal comments were posted from overseas, reports said.
In an update on its response to the incident, Twitter said it had put in place plans to “quickly identify and remove racist, abusive tweets targeting the England team and wider Euros conversation” before the tournament. However, the site and other social media giants were accused of being slow to respond to online abuse and removing it.
According to Twitter's data, 99 per cent of the account owners it suspended during the tournament for abuse rule breaches were identifiable and not posting anonymously.
The revelation counters the calls of some campaigners who have called for ID verification to be introduced to social media to cut the spread of online abuse and help quickly identify those involved.
Twitter also said that “as long as racism exists offline, we will continue to see people try and bring these views online and it is a scourge technology cannot solve alone”.
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)