Johnson and Patel must learn that others get burned when politicians play with fire | David Conn
The government did not back England players when fans booed them for taking the knee and now face the consequencesSo, as the prime minister has learned, a week is a long time in football. He and Priti Patel began it grinning in their crisp new England shirts, seeking kudos for their politics from a triumph in Europe just months after they took Britain out of the EU. Instead, the racist abuse that rained on England’s young black players following defeat on penalties on Sunday meant Johnson and Patel were finally confronted with consequences of the green light they gave to racism before the tournament started.One senior football figure told me there was “deep outrage” in the game about Johnson and...