England defender Tyrone Mings has accused Priti Patel of pretending to be disgusted after three players were subject to racial abuse online.
Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadan Sancho have all been targeted on social media after they missed penalties in the Euro 2020 final.
Home Secretary and Witham MP Priti Patel said she was "disgusted" by the abuse and that she would back the police to hold those responsible accountable.
But Mings said at the beginning of the tournament she had "stoked the fire" by saying it was "gesture politics" for England to take the knee at the beginning of the game, something the team continued to do throughout the tournament.
In a tweet Mings said: "You don’t get to stoke the fire at the beginning of the tournament by labelling our anti-racism message as ‘Gesture Politics’ and then pretend to be disgusted when the very thing we’re campaigning against, happens."
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Speaking at the beginning of the tournament the Home Secretary did not condemn football fans who has booed players for taking the knee.
She said: "That's a choice for them, quite frankly".
England captain Harry Kane said anyone abusing his teammates "is not an England fan".
In a post on Instagram, he said: "These lads were brilliant all summer and who had the courage to step up and take a penalty when the stakes were high.
"They deserve out support and backing, not the vile racist abuse they've had since last night.
"If you're abusing anyone on social media, you're not an England fan and we don't want you".
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