Jadon Sancho on Racist Abuse After Euro 2020 Penalty Miss: 'Hate Will Never Win'

AP Photo/Frank Augstein

Jadon Sancho released a statement Wednesday saying "hate will never win" after he received racist abuse on social media following his missed penalty kick in the 2020 Euro final.

"Hate will never win," Sancho wrote. "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."

Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka, all of whom are Black, were subject to racist abuse after missing penalties in England's loss to Italy in Sunday's Euro final. A 50-year-old British man was arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred over a tweet sent to Rashford just after his miss.

In the statement, Sancho also apologized to his teammates, coaches and fans for the missed penalty. 

"This is by far the worst feeling I’ve felt in my career. It’s hard to even put into words the real feeling, but there were so many positives to take away from this tournament though the defeat will hurt for a long time," Sancho wrote.

English manager Gareth Southgate called the racist messages from fans "unforgivable."