Manchester United striker, Marcus Rashford, has reacted to online racial trolls following his penalty miss during Sunday night’s EURO 2020 final against Italy at Wembley.
The 23-year-old alongside Jadon Sancho, 21, and Bukayo Saka, 19, missed their penalties one after the other, ending England’s hopes of winning its first major soccer championship in 55 years.
The trio was targeted by online racial abuse which has since been condemned by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the Football Association, amongst others.
Reacting to the critics in a post on his social media account, Rashford said that he would never apologise for who he is and where he is from while admitting that his penalty was not good enough.
“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,” Rashford said in a social media post on Monday.
“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,” he added.
“I’m Marcus Rashford, 23-year-old, Black man from Withington and Wythenshawe, South Manchester. If I have nothing else I have that.”
