In a heartfelt Twitter post, England footballer Marcus Rashford said he is ‘sorry’ for missing the penalty in the shootout against Italy but he will never apologise for who he is and where he came from.
In his first statement after England’s agonizing loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final in front of their home crowd, Marcus Rashford in a social media post late on Monday said that he was thankful to his team mates for the support they extended to him and that he was overwhelmed by the messages of support towards him.
Marcus Rashford, 23, Jadon Sancho, 21, and Bukayo Saka, 19, were the targets of racial abuse on Twitter and other social media platforms after they missed spot-kicks in a penalty shootout with Italy which settled Sunday’s final after the game finished as a 1-1 draw.
The comments prompted a police investigation and wide condemnation, although critics accused some ministers of hypocrisy for refusing to support a high-profile anti-racist stance the players had made during the tournament.
“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,” Rashford said in his statement.
via Reuters
