Now that the dust has settled after England’s heartbreaking Euro 2020 final defeat, former striker, Michael Owen, has gone on an X-rated rant over suggestions that Bukayo Saka was too young to take a spot-kick.
The 19-year-old was tasked with taking the vital fifth penalty against Italy to keep the hosts in the final, but his effort was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
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It sparked disgusting and regrettable racist abuse on Saka’s social media feeds.
Owen also wanted to ram home the point that there were plenty of other players, older than the Arsenal teen, who had also missed vital penalties.
“Just checked the ages of players who’ve missed at major tournaments since Italia 90,” he tweeted, quoted as saying by The Sun.
“As I thought, the theory [that Saka was too young] is absolute b******s.”
The pain for all of those players that missed in the shoot-out will almost certainly take some while to subside.
However, the outpouring of support that Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho have received since will hopefully sustain them in the initial stages of the 2021/22 Premier League campaign.