Islington Council is celebrating England and Arsenal star Bukayo Saka , while calling for social media companies to take action now over the racial abuse of Black people online.

Bukayo was a star of Euro 2020, with spark, energy and drive on the pitch, and is a popular member of the England squad off the pitch for his happy and optimistic nature.

He is well-known and loved in Islington as an Arsenal player – Bukayo joined Arsenal as a boy and his explosive talent made him last season’s player of the year, at only 19 years of age.

In the Euro 2020 final Bukayo showed the character, leadership and determination that has brought him love and respect when he stood up for the decisive penalty in the penalty shoot-out, showing maturity and courage beyond his years.

In stark contrast, he and other Black English players faced cowardly, hateful and racist abuse on social media following the final.

Islington Council is sending a message of support – Islington is proud of you, Bukayo – and also has written an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook which also owns Instagram, and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey calling for action to remove racist comments from Black players’ social media, and to ban people who post racist abuse.

In the letter, Cllr Kaya Comer-Schwartz, Leader of Islington Council, writes: “Enough is enough. I am writing this letter to join the chorus of individuals and organisations which have spoken out against this in recent days.

“As Black people, we deserve better. We deserve to be able to go about our daily lives without fear of being sent racial abuse, for no reason other than that we exist.“I implore you to take action, to automatically remove the offending comments and remove the people posting them from your platforms. We need change now.”

Cllr Comer-Schwartz added today: “Bukayo Saka has made himself a hero across the country in recent weeks with his performances at Euro 2020. He has lit up the tournament on and off the pitch and has such a bright future ahead of him.

“However, the horrific racist abuse faced by some members of the team on Sunday night has left a scar on the tournament and its legacy.

“It’s unacceptable that social media platforms allow racist abuse against Black people to continue, day after day, even when it is happening in plain sight and is called out again and again.

“It is also unacceptable that senior members of the Government say they are “disgusted” by the racist abuse players face, and yet publicly oppose players taking the knee to highlight racial inequality and discrimination.

“Bukayo – we are so proud of you. You are a force on the pitch, and an inspiration to us all. We will always stand with you.”

Islington Council is committed to its Challenging Inequality Strategy. To find out more, if you have ideas for action or if you just want to talk or share your experience please email [email protected]