Marcus Rashford has responded to the racial abuse that he and his England teammates were subjected to online in the aftermath of England’s penalty shootout defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 final. In a statement tweeted out on Monday evening, Rashford apologised for his miss, admitting that lacked confidence leading up to the final and felt as if he had let his teammates and the supporters down.
Marcus Rashford said: “I don’t even know where to start and I don’t even know how to put into words how I’m feeling at this exact time. I’ve had a difficult season, I think that’s been clear for everyone to see and I probably went into that final with a lack of confidence. I’ve always backed myself for a penalty but something didn’t feel quite right. During the long run up I was saving myself a bit of time and unfortunately the result was not what I wanted. I felt as though I had let my teammates down. I felt as if I’d let everyone down. A penalty was all I’d been asked to contribute to for the team. I can score penalties in my sleep so why not that one? It’s been playing in my head over and over since I struck the ball and there’s probably not a word to describe how it feels. Final. 55 years. 1 penalty. History. All I can say is sorry. I wish it had of [sic] gone differently. Whilst I continue to say sorry I want to shout out my teammates. This summer has been one of the best camps I’ve experienced and you’ve all played a role in that. A brotherhood has been built that is unbreakable. Your success is my success. Your failures are mine.”
Marcus Rashford said: “I’ve grown into a sport where I expect to read things written about myself. Whether it be the colour of my skin, where I grew up, or, most recently, how I decide to spend my time off the pitch,” he added. I can take critique of my performance all day long, my penalty was not good enough, it should have gone in but I will never apologise for who I am and where I came from. 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. 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. The communities that always wrapped their arms around me continue to hold me up. I’m Marcus Rashford, 23-year-old black man from Withington and Wythenshawe, South Manchester. If I have nothing else I have that.
The United striker signed off his statement by saying: “I’ll be back stronger. We’ll be back stronger.”
