For several weeks England swam in waves of joy. But at the time of the tragedy, some supporters of the national team showed their ugly side. After losing on penalties in the European Championship final against Italy, three missed snipers, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saga, were sometimes violently insulted. Rashford has now revealed himself in a lengthy statement posted on Twitter. “I can criticize my performance all day. My fine is not enough. It should have gone inside, but I will never apologize for who I am or where I come from.”Rashford wrote.
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The 23-year-old attack was brought in by England coach Gareth Southgate in extra time for a penalty shoot-out. He kicked a third attempt on a penalty and failed on the left post. A day later Rashford struggled with the shot: “I felt like I cheated on everyone. A penalty I have to contribute to the team. I can take the penalty in my sleep, so why not this?” He apologized. Coach Southgate accepted the responsibilities he had already missed. “I choose the snipers, this is my responsibility. It’s not the soldiers,” he said.
The racist anger against Rashford is not limited to online. In his hometown of Wittington, graffiti was ethnically painted with his look. Police are investigating, and the smears were covered with black paper. Many fans sent messages of solidarity with the rashboard and the other two missed shooters on the slides on Monday. “The news I received today had a positive note, and seeing the response I received at Wightington brought me to the brink of tears,” Rashford wrote. He also attached some moving letters from the fans to his message.