Four people have so far been arrested in connection with online abuse directed at England players.

The UK Football Policing Unit issued an update on its investigation on Thursday following abusive posts targeting Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka in the wake of England's defeat on penalties to Italy in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday.

A statement issued to the PA news agency read: "Following England's defeat against Italy on Sunday a torrent of racist comments aimed at some of the team's black players appeared on platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

“A hate crime investigation is under way by the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU), with a dedicated team of investigators working their way through a large number of reports from across the country.

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“So far, dozens of data applications have been submitted to social media companies and four people have been arrested by local police forces.”