Southgate 'right' to protect penalty takers from racism

England manager Gareth Southgate has described choosing black players to take penalties as "another layer of difficulty" in a shootout.

He made the comments ahead of England's UEFA Nation's League game against Germany in Munich.

His concerns follow the torrent of racist abuse received by Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka when they missed penalties during Euro 2020.

He also praised Saka as "massively courageous" for stepping up to do it after facing that abuse.

Last year, 11 people were arrested for comments directed at England players online.

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Gareth Southgate said he now has to take the racism players could face "into consideration" but that it won't impact his selection.

It's a situation Kelvin Akwasi, who's 18 and plays left-back for Hackney Wick in London, understands fully.

"I feel like Gareth Southgate was right to say that," he tells Radio 1 Newsbeat.

"Gareth Southgate coming out to say that is actually good because he's actually trying to back his players."

Kelvin says England's recent game against Hungary, where opposition fans booed the England team for taking the knee, a gesture which supports the Black Lives Matter movement, was typical of the pressures black players face in football.

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"I feel like my managers are similar to him because no matter what happens in a penalty shootout, if I score or miss, they're still going to be with me regardless."

'Make a mistake, we're by ourselves'

He says the abuse experienced by the black England players last year was "disgusting".

"When us black people are doing so well for the country we're getting the cheers and everything," he adds.

"But when they make a mistake like that, it's all by ourselves. It was kind of like sad to see to be honest."

Kelvin tells Newsbeat "you can forget everything you've practised" when under pressure on the pitch

Kelvin says, as well as any abuse players might face on the pitch, there's often as much of an internal struggle when a player messes up a crucial moment during a game.

"When I missed a penalty, my teammates were there for me, my manager was there for me," he says.

"But as a player that always wants to win, obviously, I was too hard on myself, because I missed that penalty. I felt like I will let my team down."

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He says that 50% of football is a mental game.

"If you let your team down, you're going to maybe take it too hard on yourself.

"Your teammates saying it's ok, it's alright might not be enough for some players because they just feel like they've just let down the whole family."

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