Jude Bellingham has slammed the racial abuse that followed England's Euro 2020 final loss, stating "you're English for seven games and then all of a sudden, you're nothing".
England followed up reaching the World Cup semi-final in 2018 by making their first major final in 55 years, where they lost to Italy on penalties at Euro 2020 at Wembley Stadium last July.
Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho all missed from 12 yards against Gianluigi Donnarumma, before the English trio were met with racial abuse online in the aftermath of the defeat.
England players and supporters rallied in support of Rashford, Saka and Sancho as the messages were greeted with widespread condemnation.
Bellingham has admitted his shock and disgust at seeing fellow young, black team-mates sent such abuse as he called for change.
"You look at the run into that final and you felt as though the country had united," 18-year-old Bellingham told The Mirror.
"Then as soon as they missed a penalty, they were not English, just black. Anyone can miss a penalty. Anyone can make a mistake in their line of work.
"But to be criticised like that should never happen. They are human.
"They are all top, top characters. To see them brought down like that was disgusting. As a team-mate it's hard to take because that could have been me. What if I'd missed a penalty? You're English for seven games and then all of a sudden, you're nothing.
"I know these are select idiots, of course, and it's not the whole nation turning against them. I'm sure that they probably had a bigger comeback of support. But the only support they should need is for missing the penalty, not for the racism that they've received after it."
Gareth Southgate labelled the abuse as "unforgivable" as he insisted his England team were a side built around bringing a country together, with players from a variety of backgrounds.
Bellingham expressed his gratitude towards the England manager's response, hailing the work Southgate is doing to make the Three Lions setup inclusive and open.
"To be fair, Gareth Southgate was brilliant," the Borussia Dortmund midfielder added. "He has always brought it up as a topic in meetings when we are aware that we going to [a country with a history of racism].
"We went to Hungary shortly after the Euros and the same thing happened again but we felt more prepared. We felt more supported because of what Gareth had put in place. As a black player you feel very grateful for that."
Bellingham was fined £34,000 by the German FA for his outburst questioning the appointment of referee Felix Zwayer in a 3-2 loss to Bayern Munich last December.
The Dortmund midfielder referenced Zwayer's six-month ban from refereeing in 2005, with Bellingham saying more was made of that episode than his first experience receiving racist messages.
"There's not a single job in the world where you deserve to be criticised with racism," he said. "I'll never forget the first time I properly got a batch of messages.
"My club were quick to send someone to message me and make sure I was alright and I really appreciate that. I had team-mates message me and family members.
"I didn't receive anything from the DFB or FA. And I always kind of compare it to when I said the thing about the referee in December.
"They were very quick to get into contact to give me my fine, give me my punishment and kind of make it a big drama in the media."
Werder Bremen 0-0 Borussia Dortmund: Schlotterbeck sent off as BVB are held
Borussia Dortmund were held to a 0-0 draw at Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Defender Nico Schlotterbeck was sent off for Dortmund in the second half and Nuri Sahin’s side ultimately had to settle for a point.
After an underwhelming start to the match, the visitors were more aggressive following the interval, with substitute Karim Adeyemi making an instant impact with an effort from more than 20 yards out. But Bremen goalkeeper Michael Zetterer was in place to deny the forward.
Dortmund were reduced to 10 men in the 73rd minute when centre-back Schlotterbeck received a second yellow card for sliding in on Bremen forward Justin Njinmah.
BVB still pushed for a winner despite their numerical disadvantage, but a solid Bremen defence withstood late pressure to secure a point at home.
Data Debrief: Defences on top
Neither side can claim they were hugely unfortunate not to have scored, with Dortmund’s expected goals (xG) total of 0.61 only coming in marginally ahead of the hosts (0.41).
BVB did have four shots on target, although all four came from the 58th minute onwards with two of them from substitutes in Adeyemi and Donyell Malen, while Bremen only tested Gregor Kobel – who now has two straight clean sheets – on one occasion.
It was Marvin Ducksch who had the hosts’ only shot on target in his 100th Bundesliga appearance, the first six of which came as a Dortmund player.
The result means Bremen end a run of four straight home defeats to Dortmund in Bundesliga play, although they have now gone nine such matches without a victory.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life without Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
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