Rangers give their support to England and Arsenal star Bukayo Saka before friendly by handing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang a signed No 7 shirt after his team-mate suffered racial abuse following Euro 2020 final penalty miss
- Rangers gave their backing to Bukayo Saka before a friendly with Arsenal
- Rangers’ James Tavernier gave Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang the shirt at kick off
- Saka has revealed he knew he was going to be hit with abuse after the miss
Rangers made a touching tribute to Arsenal and England star Bukayo Saka by giving a signed No 7 shirt to his club teammate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang before a pre-season friendly with the Gunners on Saturday.
Saka was hit with an onslaught of racist abuse on social media after missing the crucial penalty in England’s 3-2 defeat to Italy in a shootout following the Euro 2020 final.
But Rangers were keen to show their support for the 19-year-old when they faced his Arsenal side in a friendly to mark the Glasgow giants’ 150-year anniversary.
Rangers’ James Tavernier and Arsenal skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang pay tribute to Saka
Saka, here consoled by coach Gareth Southgate, has received huge support after the miss
Rangers captain James Tavernier handed the shirt, signed by Steven Gerrard’s side’s squad, to Arsenal skipper Aubameyang before kick off and the Scottish champions tweeted the image with the hashtag #EveryoneAnyone.
Arsenal responded by replying: ‘Respect’.
Saka and Manchester United pair Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho have all come in for sickening abuse since missing from the spot in the shootout at Wembley but have been shown support by many figures from football and outside, including Usain Bolt.
Saka, who had never previously taken a penalty as a professional, was distraught after the miss but spoke about the matter for the first time in an emotional post on Instagram on Thursday.
Gianluigi Donnarumma saved Saka’s penalty to clinch Italy’s victory 3-2 in the shootout
‘I knew instantly the type of hate that I was about to receive,’ he wrote on Instagram, ‘that is a sad reality’.
‘There is no place for racism or hate of any kind in football or in any area of society and to the majority of people coming together to call out the people sending these messages, by taking action and reporting these comments to the police and by driving out the hate by being kind to one another, we will win.’
