England's Jude Bellingham was a hero long before his spectacular kick in Euro 2024

England's Jude Bellingham's extra-time overhead kick against Slovakia in the 2024 UEFA European Championship, called one of the best goals in the UK's history, is still being celebrated. It should be. It was a remarkable moment. But I want to tell you about something that Bellingham did, and has done, before that. Something even more impressive, powerful and important.

Bellingham has been one of the most outspoken voices against racism in European soccer. If you don't know this, the racism there is so egregious, and so consistent, it remains one of the great plagues in any sport, anywhere in the world. The racism Black athletes can face in the United States is bad, really bad, but even that pales to what happens to many Black soccer players in parts of Europe.

Bellingham was a hero before that kick because he's used his platform to fight racism. It's been the kind of boldness that has reverberated around the world, including here in the United States. Bellingham's efforts have been chronicled by CNN, ESPN and the Associated Press. To me, they haven't been talked about enough.

What makes Bellingham particularly brave is his youth. He's just 21. Most of the time, players his age stay in the background, especially on issues of race. But he's spoken out on several occasions, particularly when defending Madrid teammate Vinícius Júnior after he suffered from repeated instances of racist abuse. Bellingham in April called the level of racism in Spanish soccer "disgusting" and asked soccer's governing authorities to do more in combating it.

"In the games where we go away … you almost get so used to it," he said. "That’s a massive problem in itself. More has got to be done, whether it’s the punishment and how you react to it, or how you move proactively to this kind of thing. It’s a horrible way for a player to prepare for a game knowing that they’re probably going to get racially abused. It’s disgusting. It shouldn’t happen.

"It’s definitely a call-out for the people who are in charge to take control. I doubt that will happen. It’s going to be something that I imagine we will still have to just deal with going into games. I think that’s one of those things where you have just got to play your game and hope that the people look after you – and they’re not doing it well enough at the moment."

Last year, Júnior was hung in effigy off a highway bridge. During one game at Valencia in 2023, he faced monkey chants and gestures.

"La Liga has a racism problem," said Real head coach Carlo Ancelotti then. "They cannot yell 'monkey' at Vinícius. The game must be stopped. If an entire stadium is chanting 'monkey' then the game has to be stopped. I said this to the referee.

"We have been complaining about the same abuse all season long and still nothing has happened. It is now at the point where a coach must consider removing a player because the game will not be stopped. For this to happen, there is something wrong with the league."

When England lost in Euro 2020 because of missed penalty kicks, the Black players who missed those kicks were racially attacked online. About a year after that loss, Bellingham said in an interview with CNN he was stunned at how quickly those players were abused racially after the missed kicks.

"I think you look at the run into the final, it felt like the country had united and it felt like we were heading on the same path," he said. "We had players, Black players, in the team; players of all different backgrounds from all different countries on the team. And then as soon as they missed the penalty, they’re not English, they’re just Black.

"Anyone could miss a penalty. Anyone can make a mistake in their line of work. But it’s impossible to be criticized like that. It should never happen. They are human."

Some of this isn't even about the past. There's an investigation into accusations of racist and discriminatory behavior by Serbian fans during England's 1-0 win. You know. The win with Bellingham's kick.

Bellingham has said he's since come to the conclusion that dealing with racism is just part of being a footballer in the 21st century.

"After (the) majority of games, I’ll get a racist message in my Instagram inbox," Bellingham said. He added: "There’s not a single job in the world where you deserve to be criticized with racism."

Racism in European soccer has been a problem for years. There are numerous examples, but one chronicled by ABC News in 2020 sticks out. Antonio Rüdiger, a Black defender for Chelsea, told officials during one game he heard monkey chants from Tottenham supporters.

Years later, here we are, with little changing.

Bellingham's England will play Switzerland in the quarterfinals Saturday. Maybe he'll have another stunning play. No matter. He's already done remarkable things.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: England's Jude Bellingham was a hero long before his spectacular kick in Euro 2024