England’s Striker, Marcus Rashford, has finally reacted to the arrays of racial discriminatory comments that followed his inability to help England win the EURO 2020 final.
Rashford, Sancho and Saka were unable to convert their spot-kicks to goal during the penalty shoot out against Italy last Sunday.
Since then, the three have been subjected to cyberbullying and racial discrimination online.
The FA had released a statement to condemn the acts and called on owners of social media platforms to ban anyone found wanton.
In his reaction to the discriminatory comments, Rashford appreciated his true fans who had been supporting and motivating him since the incident.
He 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 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 quite describe how it feels. Final. 55 years. 1 penalty. History. All I can say is sorry. I wish it had gone differently.
“Whilst I continue to say sorry I want to shout out to 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.
“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. 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.
“For all the kind messages, thank you. I’ll be back stronger. We’ll be back stronger.”
