“White Players Wouldn’t Have Received Racial Abuse If They Missed Penalty” – Rashford

Marcus Rashford of Manchester United believes that if it had been white players who missed penalties against Italy in the Euro 2020 final, they would not have faced abuse following the event.

After missing his penalty at Wembley Stadium, along with his black teammates Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, Rashford was attacked by racist trolls with nasty racial insults on social media.

During an episode of the LeBron James Shop YouTube series, the 24-year-old forward said this.

According to him, white players would not experience the same abuse and the fans “wouldn’t have noticed.”

Rashford co-starred in the episode with British actor Daniel Kaluuya, artist Rashid Johnson, marketing executive Paul Rivera and entrepreneur Maverick Carter.

Rashford was questioned if he thought the degree of hatred would have been the same if white players had been part when the group started talking about the terrible abuse the three players experienced after England lost on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the final.

He said, “Honestly no, that’s just the way I feel,’ he said. ‘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.”

Rashford recounted how David Beckham, a legend of Manchester United, had intense criticism from supporters following his red card against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup and claimed it was normal for the game.

“I remember when Beckham was getting death threats and hate. It happens, but they just want you to win,” he said.

“There’s certain elements of sport you can speak about all day and you never come to a bottom line like “that’s what should have happened” because it’s a sport based on opinions. I’ve had hate for scoring before. It sounds mad but I have.”

He was then asked whether he had ever come close to “breaking” as a result of the abuse.

He said, “No because as a forward you take risks all the time. If you’re not taking risks you’re doing something wrong.”

Rashford was questioned about his difficulties at United last season in another section of the group conversation.

Since Sir Alex Ferguson left, Rashford acknowledged that the team has been in a “transition time” and that it has been challenging to find “stability” at Old Trafford.

Rashford stated that since Sir Alex Ferguson left Old Trafford in 2013, the team has been in a “transition period” and that it has been challenging to establish “stability.”

“It’s obviously a great feeling [playing for the club], but Manchester United back in the old days, they’d been successful for many years before so success was like… Once you get a taste for it, [you] learn how to make it more of a sure thing.

“Since I’ve come into the team it’s been a transition period for the club, so finding stability has been difficult – that’s why we have so many ups and downs. But it’s a club that’s got a rich history so we’re just steadily trying to get that feeling back, but it’s not going to happen overnight.”