Ian Wright warns Bukayo Saka and England’s black players are being ‘set up to be the face of defeat’ at Euro 2024

Bukayo Saka only played 25 minutes of England’s defeat to Iceland (Photo: Getty)

Ian Wright has shared his concern that Bukayo Saka and England’s black players are ‘being set up to be the face of defeat’ at Euro 2024.

England lost their final warmup game before this summer’s tournament on Friday night, in a shock 1-0 defeat to Iceland at Wembley.

It was a deserved result, with Gareth Southgate’s side looking unfit and uninspired against the team ranked 72nd in the world.

They were booed off at both half-time and full-time, with several players coming in for heavy criticism, though Saka was not one, having only come off the bench to play 25 minutes.

Nevertheless, it has been noted by many that several newspapers all put the Arsenal winger front and centre on their back pages, with many fans accusing the publications of gaslighting and racism.

It comes after Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho were the victims of torrid racist abuse after missing their penalties in the Euro 2020 final against Italy.

Arsenal and England icon Wright shared his anger at the situation on Twitter, calling for fans to get behind the players and support them wholeheartedly during the the finals in Germany.

‘Now more than ever let’s get behind & support these young people,’ he said.

‘We can all see what’s happening & who’s being set up to be the face of defeat.

‘We are going to be gas lit with explanations & justifications, but those deciding who goes on the back pages know what they’re doing.

There was an outpouring of support for Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho after the torrid racist abuse against them following the Euro 2020 final (Photo: Getty)

‘Let’s keep our energy focused on giving these players pure love & support throughout the tournament.’

Formula 1 legend Sir Lewis Hamilton also commented on the matter, sharing a post on his Instagram story that read: ‘We need to hold the English media accountable for systemically vilifying Black players.

‘The constant scapegoating of Black players needs to stop. This endemic racial discrimination has no place in football, yet countless news outlets suggest otherwise.’

Saka, 22, is expected to be one of England’s key players at Euro 2024 off the back of another excellent season for the Gunners where he scored 20 goals and assisted 14.

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