London, UK - The English Football Association released a statement condemning racist abuse aimed at their black players after the team came up short in Sunday’s European Championship final.

England had just lost the final match of the tournament to Italy, on penalty kicks 3-2, after playing through extra time, still tied at 1-1. The shootout had England out in front 2-1, until three straight misses by attackers Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Bukayo Saka ended England’s hopes for their first international title in 55 years.

The unfortunate ending opened the floodgates for a disgusting wave of racism targeted only at those three black players' social media account. It was enough to catch the attention of the British Metropolitan Police.

"We are aware of a number of offensive and racist social media comments being directed towards footballers following the #Euro2020 final," they released via Twitter.

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It took roughly three to four hours after the game was over for the Football Association to prepare and release their statement in the early morning hours of Monday. "We’re disgusted that some of our squad – who have given everything for the shirt this summer – have been subjected to discriminatory abuse online after tonight’s game," it said.

The England head coach, Gareth Southgate, also called the racism "unforgivable."

While soccer, known largely as football outside the US, is widely played and passionately enjoyed, racist incidents are not uncommon, and it was striking to see how easily some turned to this kind of abuse when the players failed to bring home all the glory.

England’s Football Association made their thoughts clear in their own official statement, which was also reiterated by England’s National Football Team.

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London wants social media companies to remove such content from their platforms. "Social media companies need to act immediately to remove and prevent this hate," Khan stated in a tweet.

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British police also said that they would investigate the posts.