Some media outlets have been criticised for using a photograph of Bukayo Saka to illustrate England’s defeat to Iceland.
Saka came on as a 65th-minute substitute in the game at Wembley on Friday, but an image of him was used across several back pages of English newspapers.
A social media post of the coverage was highlighted by former England striker Ian Wright who said that “those deciding who goes on the back pages know what they’re doing”.
The Star and the Sun were highlighted for using a Saka image on their back pages, while the Telegraph used 22-year-old Saka to illustrate a player ratings post on X.
In an open letter to editors, Kick It Out chief executive Tony Burnett said the media needs to “remember its responsibilities”.
Burnett said: “Over the last few years, we know that a lot of work has gone into diversifying the media industry, and it has helped in showing that perpetrators of discrimination have been brought to justice.
“But many fans will have woken up on Saturday morning and questioned whether anything has changed at all.
“Heading into Euro 2024, fans are rightly asking whether the current England squad will see a repeat of what happened to Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho after the last Euros final where all three suffered terrible online abuse because of their actions on the field.
“But it also sends a message to fans from black and ethnic minority communities that they do not belong or can be abused too. Those points need to be considered when writing headlines or selecting images as deadlines approach. The words and pictures travel a long way, hitting harder than you might realise.”
“In 2018, Raheem Sterling called out the media for unfairly targeting young black footballers with negative headlines. Yet here we are a week before the Euro 2024 tournament, and the press are playing their age old games.”
Saka, Rashford and Sancho were racially abused on social media in the wake of all three missing penalties in England’s 3-2 shootout loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final.
A day after suffering alleged racist abuse from Chelsea fans during his then-club Manchester City’s defeat at Stamford Bridge in December 2018, Sterling – who has since joined the Blues – said newspapers were helping to “fuel racism” by the ways in which they portray young black footballers.
Arsenal winger Saka made his England debut in October 2020 and has since accumulated 33 caps, scoring 11 goals.
