Marcus Rashford has become the third Manchester United player to be racially abused in the last seven days. His teammates Axel Tuanzebe and Anthony Martial got their share of racial attacks on social media after Manchester United’s league match against Sheffield United on Wednesday, January 27.
The two players were criticized for their role in United’s 2-1 defeat in the hands of Sheffield United. Axel Tuanzebe made a mistake in United’s box-eighteen that led to an own goal while Anthony Martial couldn’t find the back of the net.
Hence, some Manchester United fans who were not able to hide their displeasure over the outcome of the match took to social media to share racially motivated comments against Axel Tuanzebe and Anthony Martial.
In the same vein, after Manchester United drew 0-0 with Arsenal, Manchester United and England forward Marcus Rashford took to Twitter to reveal that he was racially abused after the game. But he didn’t share screenshots of the racially motivated comments.
In his tweet, the Manchester United forward wrote that “it would be irresponsible to” share the racial attacks football fans sent to him via social media and stressed that the comments of the racist would not make him feel “different”.
“Humanity and social media at its worst”, Rashford wrote. “Yes I’m a black man and I live every day proud that I am. No one, or no one comment, is going to make me feel any different. So sorry if you were looking for a strong reaction, you’re just simply not going to get it here.
“I’m not sharing screenshots. It would be irresponsible to do so and as you can imagine there’s nothing original in them. I have beautiful children of all colors following me and they don’t need to read it. Beautiful colors that should only be celebrated.”
I’m not sharing screenshots. It would be irresponsible to do so and as you can imagine there’s nothing original in them. I have beautiful children of all colours following me and they don’t need to read it. Beautiful colours that should only be celebrated.
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) January 30, 2021
In reaction to the rising cases of Premier League footballers being racially attacked on social media, the English FA issued a statement stressing that racial abuse should not be tolerated.
The FA’s statement read: “We are united with all of football in our abhorrence of any racist abuse. This is not acceptable in any part of society.
“We will continue to work with the rest of the game, the government, and social media platforms to remove this – and all elements of – discrimination from our sport.”
Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, Axel Tuanzebe, and Anthony Martial are not the only set of players that have suffered racial attacks in the past few days. Chelsea defender Reece James and West Brom’s Romaine Sawyers recorded their share of racial attacks a few days ago just like the United’s trio.
“Tackling online hate is a priority for football, and I believe social media companies need to do more”, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said.
