The last 24 hours have been hell for England striker Marcus Rashford to say the least. After missing a penalty during the Euro 2020 Final shootout in their loss, he endured terrible abuse online and in the city of Manchester.
Rashford was one of several black England players to suffer racial abuse at the hands of bitter “fans” after the loss. Some people decided to take things a step further, defacing a mural of him in the suburb of Withington.
On Monday, Rashford chose to the respond to everything that happened. Taking to Twitter, Rashford apologized for his performance on the penalty, and in his season for Manchester United. But he said that he remains proud to wear the Three Lions badge and takes pride in his heritage.
“I’ve felt no prouder moment than wearing those three lions on my chest and seeing my family cheer me on in a crowd of 10s of thousands,” Rashford tweeted. “I dreamt of days like this. The messages I’ve received today have been positively overwhelming and seeing the response in Withington had me on the verge of tears… I’m Marcus Rashford, 23 year old, black man from Withington and Wythenshawe, South Manchester. If I have nothing else I have that. For all the kind message, thank you. I’ll be back stronger. We’ll be back stronger.”
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) July 12, 2021
Rashford and his Manchester United teammate Jadon Sancho were both brought on as 120th-minute subs by England manager Gareth Southgate to participate in the penalty shootout.
But Rashford’s attempt bounced off the post and Sancho’s was defended by Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. Arsenal striker Bukayo Saka took the fifth attempt, which would have forced sudden-death. But Donnarumma saved that one too, giving Italy the Euro 2020 Final win.
All eyes are on the World Cup qualifying games now ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. After coming within two wins of the title in 2018, Rashford and England hope to finish the job next year.
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