Update (July 15, 2021):  Four people are in police custody for online racist abuse targeting three Black members of England’s soccer team after they lost to Italy in the Euro 2020 on Sunday.

British police say the investigation is still ongoing and they are reviewing additional reports of abuse against Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, Reuters reported.

All three players missed their penalty shots, costing England the game. Fans were upset with the loss and made racist statements on the players’ social media pages.

"The racial abuse aimed at our own players following Sunday night's game is utterly vile and has quite rightly shocked and appalled people across the country," Chief Constable Mark Roberts said in a statement. 

Roberts says he and the department are working with social media platforms to locate others who may be involved. The chief also sent out a warning to those who were behind Sunday’s attack. 

“If we identify that you are behind this crime, we will track you down and you will face the serious consequences of your shameful actions,” he said.

The UK Football Policing Unit has launched a hate crime investigation into the matter, too.

Since the attack, many have condemned the racist abuse including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prince William. However, some are accusing them of hypocrisy for not condemning other incidents of racist behavior.

At the start of the Euro 2020 tournament, some England players took a knee before their matches in order to address the issue of racism and were booed by fans.

Despite the backlash the prime minister is receiving, he says he will enforce measures to stop online racist abuse of soccer players and will ban fans from matches if they are caught in the act, Reuters reported.

Original (July 12, 2021): Three Black English players were the target of racist attacks after they failed to score penalities against Italy during the Euro 2020 final.

Following England's loss to Italy 3-2, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka were targeted online by angry fans. During the match the three players had an opportunity to win the game during a penalty shootout, however, all three missed their chances to score, the Associated Press reported.

This ultimately angered the fans who attended the game at London’s Wembley Stadium.

Angry fans targeted the three players on social media after finding their individual Instagram accounts. They then placed monkey and banana emojis and racist statements underneath the players’ posts. 

Following Sunday’s match, a mural of Rashford located in south Manchester was also defaced.

London’s Metropolitan Police said the suspects' actions would not be tolerated and the department will investigate the matter. 

While speaking to The Washington Post, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned those who were responsible. 

“To those who have been directing racist abuse at the players, I say, shame on you, and I hope you will crawl back under the rock from which you emerged,” Johnson said. 

He added in a tweet that England’s team should be seen as heroes. 

Prince William said in a tweet that he was “sickened” by the racist statements angry fans made.

In a tweet, England’s soccer team stated it was “disgusted” by the racist attacks against its players.

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.

We stand with our players ❤️ https://t.co/1Ce48XRHEl

— England (@England) July 12, 2021

The team’s manager, Gareth Southgate, said the racist attacks against the soccer players were “unforgivable”

“We have been a beacon of light in bringing people together, in people being able to relate to the national team, and the national team stands for everybody and so that togetherness has to continue,” Southgate said on Monday, according to the Associated Press.

In a statement, the English Football Association stood in solidarity with the three players.

“We could not be clearer that anyone behind such disgusting behavior is not welcome in following the team,” the association said. 

pic.twitter.com/MQoVHCYUfy

— FA Spokesperson (@FAspokesperson) July 12, 2021

The English Football Association is calling on England’s government and social media companies to create laws that will prohibit racist targeted behavior, The Hill reported.

“Social media companies need to step up and take accountability and action to ban abusers from their platforms, gather evidence that can lead to prosecution and support making their platforms free from this type of abhorrent abuse,” the association said in a tweet.

British lawmaker David Lammy said this latest racist attack carried out in England is the epitome of “why we take the knee.”