London: England forward Marcus Rashford has opened up publicly for the first time since their Euro 2020 final loss against Italy at the Wembley Stadium last Sunday. Rashford was one of three English players who missed the penalties as Italy won 3-2 to take the trophy home.
Following the loss, Rashford along with Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were victims of heavy online hatred and racism from apparently disappointed English fans. This was also England’s first major final in 55 years since their 1966 World Cup triumph at home.
Being really worked up with all the unnecessary hatred and racial slurs, Rashford, who is widely known for his good works, issued a statement apologizing for his performance stating that the miss has not been easy on him either.
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) July 12, 2021
“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 quite describe how it feels,” wrote Rashford.
“Final. 55 years. 1 penalty. History. All I can say is sorry. I wish I had gone differently,” he added. “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.
“Whilst I continue to say sorry, I want to shout out [to] 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,” he wrote.
While he faced immense hatred and undeserving racial abuse, the Manchester United star, also wrote about the encouraging words that he got from his fellow fans which made his process to move on from the loss a little easier.
“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,” Rashford continued.
“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 tens of thousands. I dreamt of days like this. The messages I’ve received today have been positively overwhelming and seeing the response on Withington had me on the verge of tears.”
