The Prime Minister has condemned the “appalling” racist abuse of England players on social media after their Euro 2020 final defeat.

Boris Johnson said the team deserve to be hailed as “heroes” following the Three Lions’ loss to Italy and not subjected to hatred online, adding that those who sent abuse should be “ashamed of themselves”.

The Football Association also issued a statement saying it is “appalled”, while the Metropolitan Police vowed to investigate.

Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka all failed from the spot on Sunday night as England went down on penalties.

The trio’s social media pages were quickly flooded with racist comments, leading the Prime Minister and the FA to condemn the “disgusting behaviour”.

Mr Johnson tweeted: “This England team deserve to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media. Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.”

Home Secretary Priti Patel said she is “disgusted” by the “vile” racist abuse players were subjected to.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden tweeted that he “shared the anger” of the “appalling racist abuse” towards the “heroic” players.

Both the Prime Minister and Ms Patel have previously described the action of footballers taking the knee to highlight racial inequality and discrimination as “gestures”.

In a briefing last month, Mr Johnson’s official spokesman said: “On taking the knee, specifically, the Prime Minister is more focused on action rather than gestures… but he fully respects the right of those who do choose to peacefully protest to make their feelings known.”

Three days later, however, in a different briefing, when asked if Mr Johnson backs players taking the knee, a Number 10 spokesman said: “Yes. The Prime Minister respects the right of all people to peacefully protest and make their feelings known about injustices.

“The Prime Minister wants to see everybody getting behind the team to cheer them on, not boo.”

Ms Patel meanwhile described footballers taking the knee as “gesture politics” during an interview with GB News last month.

She did not condemn football fans who booed players for taking the knee, calling it a “choice for them” after Gareth Southgate’s side faced jeers from some supporters during their first match in the Uefa tournament.

Following the abuse towards players on Sunday, an FA spokesman said: “The FA strongly condemns all forms of discrimination and is appalled by the online racism that has been aimed at some of our England players on social media.

“We could not be clearer that anyone behind such disgusting behaviour is not welcome in following the team. We will do all we can to support the players affected while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible.

“We will continue to do everything we can to stamp discrimination out of the game, but we implore Government to act quickly and bring in the appropriate legislation so this abuse has real life consequences.

“Social media companies need to step up and take accountability and action to ban abusers from their platforms, gather evidence that can lead to prosecution and support making their platforms free from this type of abhorrent abuse.”

The Met also condemned the “unacceptable” abuse, adding that they will be investigating the “offensive and racist” social media posts.

Meanwhile, the Met Police Federation, which represents thousands of London’s police, criticised people who hurt officers after the match, tweeting: “These people should be ashamed of themselves. They are not fans. They are thugs. We wish our injured colleagues well.”

Football players are regularly subjected to abuse after games, with Rashford and Raheem Sterling among those speaking out against racist hatred.

Before the tournament, England manager Southgate said his “paternal instincts kick in” and told those who sent such messages: “You’re on the losing side.”

The official Twitter account for the England men’s and women’s national teams offered support to the victimised players, tweeting: “We stand with our players.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan called on social media companies to do more to hold to account those responsible for sending online abuse.

He wrote on Twitter: “There is absolutely no place for racism in football or anywhere else.”