BICESTER residents were 'disgusted' to hear that black England footballers were targeted with racist abuse after playing in the Euro 2020 final.
The racist comments were made on social media following the match on Sunday after Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho missed their penalties.
A petition that was set up by Oxford City councillor Shaista Aziz and her two friends calling for racists to be banned from all football matches in England was shared in the Bicester Chat Facebook group on Monday evening.
ALSO READ: Oxford Mail reporter on racism in football following England Euro loss
It sparked a conversation amongst residents on racism in football and in society as a whole with many saying more needs to be done.
Emma Smith said: "Yes, racism comes in many forms, however this is what it is currently about: three young men - one only 19 years old - made to feel worthless. Not Maguire, not Kane. Three men thrown such abuse because of the colour of their skin.
"If they’d scored they would of been heroes. These people that have said these nasty words are among us, have gone about their daily lives today, and are probably teaching their children this behaviour.
"It is not good enough. We as a nation should stand together to stop this. Not make excuses."
Jody Leanne commented: "It’s a disgusting thing still happening in the 21st century."
One resident, Jay Dhillon, says he does not watch football games at stadiums because of the racist slurs that he hears by fans.
ALSO READ: Racial hate crime reports soar in Thames Valley
He said: "I don’t go to football matches anymore because of racist abuse from the stands, not at me but players, opposition team and even their own. Nobody will ever stop that, it’s part and parcel of football."
More than one million people signed the petition within 48 hours of it going live.
Ms Aziz set it up to put pressure on the Government and the FA to make tangible change.
She said: "Politicians in this country keep telling us we must feel patriotic and we must feel like we want to belong, but on the other hand you've got these world famous international footballers being treated in the most disgusting manner being targeted because of the colour of their skin.
"It's going to impact deeply any person of colour in this country - especially young black men - because it just shows you that you can be a fantastic footballer, you can have a lot of money, a lot of status, you can have so much clout but you will still be treated this way because of the colour of your skin and that it is just outrageous.
"Change is coming. They're like dinosaurs - racists are going to be an extinct breed soon, it will take time and they know things are changing because this is their way of reacting."
Boris Johnson announced yesterday in the House of Commons that football banning orders will now cover online racism.
He said: “I utterly condemn and abhor the racist outpourings that we saw on Sunday night.
“So what we are doing is taking practical steps to ensure that the football banning regime is changed so that if you are guilty of racist abuse online on football, then you will not be going to the match.
“No ifs, no buts, no exemptions, no excuses.”
Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For news updates straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.
Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on news@nqo.com or 01865 425 445.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here