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Belgian TV Producer, Paltiel blasts English fans for racial abuses on Saka and others

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA

An international sports media consultant, Robert Paltiel has blasted the English fans for their reactions to the trio of Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho who missed the target in the decisive penalty shoot-out at last Sunday’s Euro 2020 final match with Italy.

The trio, who racially are not pure Europeans were subjected to racial abuses on social media by angry English fans.  

Paltiel, a Belgian head of The Production Room, a Belgian based international Media consultancy and TV production company, focusing primarily on Africa remarked that such actions were uncalled for.

He remarked that there had been worse penalty misses by high profiled players even before the Euro 2020 final match.

Sports Village Square recalls that the legendary Diego Maradona missed a penalty against Yugoslavia in a quarter final match of the 1990 World Cup while his iconic successor, Lionel Messi also missed a penalty in their opening Russia 2018 match with Iceland.

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But Paltiel added another dimension, recalling the 1994 World Cup final match of Brazil and Italy. Italy’s Roberto Baggio at the time probably the world’s best forward missed his penalty in the final to give the World Cup to Brazil.”

He argued further that it even happens to the best players in the world…. “why shame highly talented 18 year-olds on one of the biggest international football events? Let alone the racist slurs! so typically English!!”, remarked Paltiel.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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