Police in the UK have revealed they have made four arrests after an investigation into the racial abuse of England players after Euro 2020.
The social media posts were carried out over Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Messages were aimed at some of England's players in the aftermath of their penalty shootout loss.
The body responsible for the investigation is the UK Football Policing Unit. The unit are a team of investigators who make their way through reports of online abuse aimed at players.
Football policing lead, Chief Constable Mark Roberts, condemned the racist messages and said investigations are ongoing to look into other breaching comments.
"The racial abuse aimed at our own players following Sunday night’s game is utterly vile and has quite rightly shocked and appalled people across the country,” he said.
"I’m disgusted there are individuals out there who think it’s acceptable to direct such abhorrent abuse at them, or at anybody else. The UKFPU investigation is well underway and work continues to identify those responsible."
Roberts provided a stark message for those writing messages without the thoughts of the consequences. "If we identify that you are behind this crime, we will track you down and you will face the serious consequences of your shameful actions."
This is how the Marcus Rashford mural in Withington looks this morning ♥️ pic.twitter.com/vSsUx6gIcu
— Sophie Halle-Richards (@sophiehrMEN) July 13, 2021
The news comes after a 37-year-old English man turned himself into a police station in Stockport, and was arrested on suspicion of an offence under the Malicious Communications Act thereafter.
Following social unrest outside Wembley Stadium on Sunday, it brings the total number of arrests to 264 within 24 hours of the Euro 2020 final.
Despite this, London Metropolitan Police have denied they handled the policing of Sunday's tournament final poorly. UK Police chiefs and the English FA will carry out further investigations into the scenes.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Met Police, Jane Connors, said "I do not accept that the policing operation failed and I stand by the difficult decisions made by police officers and the Met's public order commanders."
"Without their immediate intervention, it is possible that this game could have been abandoned," she said.
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