sport news Gareth Southgate must NOT let the racists win... the England manager must stay ... trends now
Football is about ability, character, unity and mental strength. It has nothing to do with race.
Gareth Southgate knows this better than most. He has done more than any other England manager in recent memory to bring a squad of players, and a country, together.
So it is to be hoped that when picking his penalty takers for England's next shootout, he stays true to his instincts as a coach and manager of people.
Whatever happens, he must not consider the colour of their skin. He must not let the prospect of his players being racially abused skew his opinion.
In short, Southgate must not let the racists win.
Garetth Southgate must not let the prospect of his players being racially abused influence his penalty takers
Bukayo Saka suffered racial abuse on social media after missing a penalty in the Euro 2020 final
Because that is exactly what will happen if a decision is made not to choose a black player to take a penalty in order to protect them from mindless idiots.
That's what they want: for a manager or coach to bow down to their abhorrent views.
As he generally does, Southgate called it exactly right when yesterday describing the notion of a player being targeted with racial abuse for missing a penalty.
'We know that's ludicrous, we know that's outrageous to even think about,' said the England boss.
So, pay them no mind Gareth.
Marcus Rashford was also targeted following the Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy at Wembley
It is a measure of Southgate as a human being that the mental state of his players is at the forefront of his mind.
He is more than just a football manager, at least he certainly is to his players. He is their confidant.
Of course, he wants to protect them. But you can bet your bottom dollar that Bukayo Saka won't shirk taking another penalty if asked to do so. The same goes for Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford.
Southgate shouldn't feel responsible for the abuse those black players received after missing penalties in the European Championship final last summer.
Jadon Sancho, the other player to miss in the Italy shootout, was racially abused on social media
It wasn't Terry Venables' fault that Southgate was targeted with dog's abuse after missing in the Euro 96 semi-final against Germany at Wembley.
