England’s Mings slams UK’s home secretary over racism remarks

England’s football player Tyrone Mings says Patel ‘stoked the fire’ with her comments about players taking the knee.

England’s football player Tyrone Mings has criticised Home Secretary Priti Patel, saying she had “stoked the fire” by defending fans who booed Black players taking the knee during Euro 2020 final with Italy. Patel had previously said taking the knee was “gesture politics” and Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has enthusiastically waged verbal war on so-called woke politics, had also equivocated for days over the issue. Patel had said on Monday the online racial abuse of the three Black players – Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka – after missing penalties in the shoot-out defeat by Italy was “disgusting”, but Mings issued a stinging response.