Danny Rose fears recurrence of England abuse at Euros and recalls Serbia racism ordeal

Danny Rose believes England's black players will be expecting to receive racist abuse if they make an error at the Euros.

Three years ago, Rose accurately anticipated the vile barrage of racial abuse hurled at Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho after England's penalty shootout defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 final, reports the Mirror. He fears more of the same horrific abuse could be forthcoming if similar scenes unfold in Germany during the current tournament.

Rose spoke candidly on Reach's new Euro Thrash podcast - available on YouTube, Apple and Spotify - and relayed: "Even now, I have group chats with my friends and if something happens at the weekend or whatever, and if it's a black player the first message will be 'watch, I bet he gets racially abused in his DMs on Instagram'."

In an unsettling reflection of the current mindset, he said: "That is just the mentality these days, that it is the norm and it is to be expected.

"You just want the players just to be focused on winning the trophy for their country and not potentially having to worry about, if I make a mistake, what's waiting for me since I go back to the change room and go on my phone. We all have to just work together and find a solution on how to eradicate that."

Rose himself knows the gut-wrenching experience of being on the end of racist abuse all too well. Rose found himself on the receiving end of discriminatory chants during a Euro 2020 qualifier in Montenegro.

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Sadly, it was not Rose's maiden encounter with such malicious behaviour. He bitterly recalled an incident from seven years prior where a match in Serbia witnessed fans hurling stones and performing monkey gestures directed towards him a deeply unnerving experience for any footballer, especially one as young as 22.

Reflecting on a past game experience, Rose shared: "It was tough. It was away as well, so it was hostile. I just remember we'd gone into the tunnel first and they told us that we were on their side, so we had to cross over in the tunnel and they'd be hitting us and starting then."

"The game, I think that we needed to win to qualify for the Under-21 Championships was a real difficult game. It was so hostile. That is one of the harshest atmospheres I have ever played in."

While expressing his struggle with adjusting to the atmosphere, he said, "It was probably the first time I had experienced anything like that. It did affect me a little bit because I remember that if there was a 50/50 challenge, I'd try to be a little bit naughty and let my frustration out."

Adding further to his sentiments during the game, Rose confessed: "I didn't ask to come off, I didn't complain to the manager at the time, even though it was evident what was happening. In terms of wanting three points for the team, it didn't affect me in that way, but it made me frustrated a little bit."

Watch and listen to Euro Thrash on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify with regular new episodes throughout Euro 2024