The thing that annoys me about the racial abuse is that it provides the under-performing player with an instant political lever to divert attention away from any criticism. Even before Tel came up to take a penalty, I had a feeling that he would miss. It had nothing to do with the colour of his skin. I just get a very strong Superstar-in-Waiting vibe from him. The moment people bring race into it, they lose all credibility and the player gets victim status.
If we go back to the 2021 Euros Final, I was appalled by the way we failed to put up any real fight in that shootout. We just let a prima donna and a couple of woefully inexperienced players take the penalties and said we "did our best". The racial abuse took the attention away from all of that and Gareth Southgate became a hero for being a "good loser". I know I shouldn't be referencing the Donkey but, in this instance, I think he had a point.
Why can't people just leave race, sexuality, politics and all the other crap at the door and just focus on the football? It's not rocket science.