Manchester United and England player, Marcus Rashford feels that if three white players had missed penalties against Italy last summer, the England heroes would not have faced abuses after the European championship. The England international said this while speaking with Lebron James.
After failing with his spot kick at Wembley Stadium, along with his fellow black teammates Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, who both missed their attempts, Rashford was attacked by trolls with ugly racist messages on social media.
The 24-year-old said he did not think white players would face the same treatment from fans, stating that supporters “wouldn’t have noticed”. He said this in basketball legend LeBron James’ Shop YouTube series.
Rashford made an appearance on the program along with a British actor Daniel Kaluuya, an artist Rashid Johnson, businessman Maverick Carter, and an actor James.
While speaking during the show, Marcus Rashford said: ‘Honestly no, that’s just the way I feel. I don’t think it would have been the same. But at the same time, I don’t think people would have noticed.
‘I feel they just reacted to how they felt, whether it was because it was three black guys or three white guys.’
Marcus Rashford reminded the group about David Beckham when he was pressured by the England supporters because he got a red card against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup and said it was part of the game.
“I remember when Beckham was getting death threats and hate. It happens, but they just want you to win,” he said.
Marcus Rashford Speak On Racism At The Euro 2020 Finals Says White Players Won’t Face Ithttps://t.co/TEpH2zP1G2 pic.twitter.com/UFGtniaI5I
— Pristine Network (@pristine_n1) July 16, 2022
During the Euro 2020 final game, Arsenal player Saka was the person who missed the decisive kick to hand Italy the trophy. The Arsenal star player immediately broke down crying and his teammates rushed to console him. His misery didn’t end on the pitch as many supporters continued to troll him after the game.
They started sending and commenting with messages like ‘get out of my country, ‘Go back to Nigeria, and some posted banana and monkey emojis on all three players’ Instagram pages.
The FA referred to the behavior as “disgusting” and said that any fans discovered to have posted such messages were not welcome to support the team.
Following England’s loss in the shootout, a fan named Jonathon Best was detained and sentenced to ten weeks in jail after he live-streamed himself insulting Rashford, Sancho, and Saka.
In a different part of the group conversation, Rashford was also questioned about his challenges at United after a season in which they dropped out of the title chase and failed to even make the top four.
Rashford acknowledged that since Sir Alex Ferguson left Old Trafford in 2013, the team has been in a “transition time” and that it has been challenging to create “stability” there.
Marcus Rashford feels that if three white young kids missed penalties. They wouldn't get the same hate and Daniel Kaluuya perfectly explained the reason a lot of Black people are conflicted about supporting the national team. pic.twitter.com/kE2i0Lq9um
— Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) July 16, 2022
