Marcus Rashford has detailed the racial abuse he said flooded his social media accounts after Manchester United lost on penalties to Villarreal in the Europa League final on Wednesday night.
The Red Devils forward counted at least 70 slurs in the immediate aftermath of the defeat. He has been among the footballers who have decried the pervasiveness of racism on social media over the past year, but so far, the problem has not subsided.
Rashford went on to say that a teacher was among those who sent him racist messages. The player also highlighted a fan who had said he "deserved" abuse, promoting their response to him as an example of the frustrating mindsets he has to deal with on a daily basis.
What has been said?
"At least 70 racial slurs on my social accounts counted so far," Rashford wrote on Twitter. "For those working to make me feel any worse than I already do, good luck trying."
Later, he added: "I’m more outraged that one of the abusers that left a mountain of monkey emojis in my DM is a maths teacher with an open profile. He teaches children!! And knows that he can freely racially abuse without consequence…"
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) May 26, 2021
I’m more outraged that one of the abusers that left a mountain of monkey emojis in my DM is a maths teacher with an open profile. He teaches children!! And knows that he can freely racially abuse without consequence…
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) May 27, 2021
Manchester United's statement
Not long after Rashford's experience, the club issued a statement condemning the abuse.
"Following the [Europa League] final, our players were subjected to disgraceful racist abuse," wrote the team on Twitter. "If you see any form of abuse or discrimination, act and report it."
Further reading
- Why Premier League clubs boycotted social media
- 'Humanity and social media at its worst' - Rashford hits out at abuse
