BLACK people knew exactly what was about to happen as soon as England's Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho missed their penalties in the Euro 2020 final.

We knew racism would follow and so many people walked right into the reality of our expectations.

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So no, I wasn't surprised by the disgusting words that were shared on social media after the game on Sunday night.

In fact, as soon as the game finished, my friend - who is black - said to me 'Oh my gosh Indya, all of the black players missed and I'm so scared for them because I know they're going to get so much racist abuse on social media'.

Unfortunately, this is the mindset that many people within the black community have in the UK.

If racism is already alive when black people don't do anything wrong or make a mistake, then what should we expect when we do make a mistake - in this instance miss a penalty at the Euro 2020 final?

And I say 'we', because when you attack any black person, you attack the whole community which I am a part of.

We have to prepare ourselves for what will come. That's just the sad and harsh reality of life for us. 

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The most infuriating thing about this whole situation is the fact that less than a week ago, so-called fans were cheering for the England team after they won the semi-final against Denmark.

Raheem Sterling - a black player - scored the first three goals in the tournament. If it wasn't for him, the team may not have even got that far.

How can some then turn on players after they fall short of 'bringing it home' and then fire racist abuse?

It's childish. It's hypocritical and foolish to disrespect a player based on their skin colour when they have been the very cause of your previous celebrations.

I applaud Marcus Rashford's humble response and apology which he tweeted last night, but he shouldn't even have to apologise for his penalty miss.

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Football is probably the most diverse sport in this country and even in the world. It's one of the sports - as well as athletics - where I would actually see people competing who have the same skin colour as me.

But as well as the pride that comes with that, there's always a sense of pressure.

Racism that can come with football is unacceptable and it needs to stop.

Taking the knee is an anti-racism symbol and it's a shame that some leaders of this country have not condemned those who have booed at players doing it.

England player Tyrone Mings summed it up perfectly last night in his tweet in response to Home Secretary Priti Patel.

The fight against racism starts at the top, and our leaders need to do more.

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