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David Harewood: Racism after Euros final reminded me why I can’t buy an England shirt

David Harewood has said that the racist abuse directed at black football players after the Euro 2020 final stopped him from buying an England shirt (Dave Benett)
David Harewood has said that the racist abuse directed at black football players after the Euro 2020 final stopped him from buying an England shirt (Dave Benett)

David Harewood has said that the racist abuse directed at black football players after the Euro 2020 final stopped him from buying an England shirt.

The actor said he had never bought the jersey before as he had spent his childhood being chased by “skinheads wearing Union Jacks”.

Mr Harewood, who grew up in Birmingham, told a crowd at The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literary Festival that he was “genuinely pumped” for the Three Lions after they beat Denmark in a tense semi-final, and was “moments away” from buying an England shirt.

However, he said that the torrent of racist abuse directed at substitutes Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka – all of whom missed penalties in the shootout against Italy – had made him “realise why I didn’t”.

The Times reported he added: “I’m not being unpatriotic but that flag always symbolised hatred for me.

“But I look at Lewis Hamilton waving the flag and I look at Stormzy with his Union Jack stab vest [worn at Glastonbury] and I think maybe I do need to change. Maybe I do need to embrace it. Hopefully I can get to that point.

“I would love to buy an England shirt but somehow because of my experience I haven’t.”

The Three Lions were also booed by fans in the early stages of the tournament for choosing to take the knee at the beginning of games in protest against racial injustice.

Priti Patel, the home secretary, was criticised for suggesting that fans had a “right” to boo – weeks before cheering the team on as they advanced in the tournament.

Mr Harewood, the first actor to play Othello at the National Theatre, credited England manager Gareth Southgate and the team for continuing their act of protest despite opposition from ministers.

He added: “Those players and Gareth Southgate did more for sense of identity than this government has in ten years just by standing up, being a unit and taking the knee amid the boos despite the government saying they had every right to boo, which I thought was an extraordinary thing to say.”

Elsewhere during the interview, the actor remembered his childhood in the Small Heath area of Birmingham, where his parents moved to from Barbados in 1955. He recalled being told as a seven-year-old boy by “an elderly white gentleman … to get the f*** out of my country”.

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