England’s star footballer Marcus Rashford was, on Tuesday (July 13), sorry for missing his penalty against Itlay in the final of the Euro Cup 2020, but said in an emotional post on social media, that he “will never apologize” for who is he was racially abused on social media.
The 23-year-old missed a penalty as England's 55-year wait for a major football trophy was lengthened thanks to the agony of defeat in a penalty shootout with Italy crowned the winner of the Euro Cup 2020.
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Following the agonizing loss against Italy and online abuse, Rashford shared a heartfelt post on social media, and cricket legends AB de Villiers and Michael Vaughan were among those who extended support to the young star on Twitter on Tuesday.
Reacting to Rashford’s post, De Villiers wrote “respect” while Vaughan shared the post with heart emojis.
England batsman Sam Billings also reacted to Rashford’s post by saying: “What an incredible man! A role model for us all.”
Rashford who along with Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka – who all are Black – failed to score in the penalty shootout as Italy claimed the Euro 2020 crown at the jam-packed Wembley after beating England 3-2 in the final on Sunday.
Following the heartbreak, Rashford along with his teammates Sancho and Saka were subjected to racial abuse on social media before receiving huge support from all over the world.
He wrote, “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.”
The England striker continued, “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 of 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 color 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 apologize 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.”
He signed off by writing, “The communities that always wrapped their arms around me continue to hold me up. I’m Marcus Rashford, a 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.”
