England footballer Tyrone Mings hit out at Priti Patel in her condemnation of racist abuse faced by his England teammates, after she previously told GB News that players taking the knee "gesture politics".
Politicians and public figures have slammed the racist hate faced by England players, in particular Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, on social media following their Euro 2020 final defeat.
The Home Secretary was among those to criticise the “vile” racist abuse that the players have been subjected to, writing on Twitter: “It has no place in our country and I back the police to hold those responsible accountable.”
However, in a response posted on Twitter, England defender Mings claimed Ms Patel had “stoke(d) the fire” after she previously refused to criticise fans who booed the team for taking the knee in protest against racial injustice.
He said: “You don’t get to stoke the fire at the beginning of the tournament by labelling our anti-racism message as ‘Gesture Politics’ & then pretend to be disgusted when the very thing we’re campaigning against, happens.”
England's Tyrone Mings during a training session at St George's Park, Burton upon Trent. Picture date: Friday June 25, 2021.
Nick Potts
In her interview with GB News earlier this month, Ms Patel accused the England team of taking part in "gesture politics" for taking a knee, and aid fans had a right to boo, adding "that's a choice for them, quite frankly”.
She said: “I just don't support, people participating in that type of gesture politics to a certain extent as well," the Home Secretary said.
"It's all well to support a cause and, you know, make your voices heard, but actually, quite frankly, and we saw last year in particular with some of the the protests that took place, I speak now very much from what I saw and the impact on policing. It was devastating.
Priti Patel has been criticised by Tyrone Mings for her comments about taking the knee and 'gesture politics'.
Aaron Chown
“And not only that, I just don't subscribe to this view that we should be rewriting our history, you know, pulling down statues, the famous Colston statue and what's happened there. Toppling statues is not the answer. It's about learning from our past, learning from our history and actually working together.”
Ms Patel refused to respond Mings' latest tweets.
Conservative Plymouth Moor View MP Johnny Mercer, a former defence minister, said of Mings’ tweet: “The painful truth is that this guy is completely right. Very uncomfortable with the position we Conservatives are needlessly forcing ourselves into. Do I fight it or stay silent? Modern Conservatism was always so much more to me. We must not lose our way.”
The symbol of anti-racism solidarity gained attention in American football in 2016 as players protested against police brutality and racism in the US.
The act has since spread further and was adopted by footballers in the UK, partly to demonstrate that racism should not be tolerated in the sport.
Former Tory Party chairwoman Baroness Warsi also criticised Ms Patel after her tweet, suggesting the Home Secretary and the Government were guilty of “dog whistle” politics.
“It’s time to stop the culture wars that are feeding division,” the Conservative peer tweeted. “Dog whistles win votes but destroy nations.”