Football news - 'On the verge of tears' - Proud Marcus Rashford reacts to mural defacement

Published 12/07/2021 at 20:44 GMT

Manchester United's 23-year-old England striker Marcus Rashford has said that he was left 'on the verge of tears' after his mural was defaced in the aftermath of his penalty miss in the shootout against Italy in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday night at Wembley. However he was unapologetic about the work he has done off the pitch.

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Manchester Untied and England striker Marcus Rashford said that the vandalism of his mural in Withington left him on the 'verge of tears'.

Rashford posted a note to Twitter explaining his thoughts and feelings after his missed penalty against Italy on Sunday night in the Euro 2020 finals.

Rashford has received racist abuse in the aftermath, and he wrote that he was sorry for the miss, but was proud of who he is and the work he does off the pitch.

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"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," he began.

"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. 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 describe how it feels.

"Final. 55 years. 1 penalty. History. All I can say is sorry. I wish it had of [sic] gone differently. Whilst I continue to say sorry I want to shoutout 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 colour 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 apologise 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."

He then addressed the support he receievd as well as his reaction to the news regarding the defacement of his mural.

https://embed.acast.com/5e7a396f0967e18a3a0366ed/italy-deserve-euro-2020-triumph-racial-abuse-of-eng

"The messages I’ve received today have been positively overwhelming and seeing the response in Withington had me on the verge of tears. The communities that always wrapped their arms around me continue to hold me up.