Marcus Rashford proves yet again he’s an example to us all – 15 top reactions to his powerful statement

Marcus Rashford has been an inspiration to millions ever since he took on the Government over child food poverty.

At just 23, he’s one of the nation’s top footballers but has also found time to champion causes which truly matter: helping low-income families and combating racism.

Now, he has proven his grace, maturity and poise with a powerful statement following Sunday’s Euro 2020 final and the despicable fall-out that ensued.

Posting on Twitter hours after he suffered a barrage of racist abuse on social media and a mural in his honour was defaced in Withington, Manchester, he vowed that he would “never apologise for who I am and where I came from”.

In the impassioned post, he admitted feeling eaten up by not scoring his crucial penalty and apologised profusely to fans, but said that while he “can take critique of my performance all day long” he would never be sorry for being a “black man from Withington and Wythenshawe, South Manchester.”

Rashford wrote: “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.”

Referring to how the defaced mural has since been festooned with hearts, flags and tributes, he continued: “The messages I have 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.

“I’m Marcus Rashford, 23 years old, black man from Withington and Wythenshawe, South Manchester. If I have nothing else, I have that.”

He ended his statement: “For all the kind messages, thank you. I’ll be back stronger. We’ll be back stronger.”

The 23-year old shared it just before 9pm on Monday. By 7.30am on Tuesday it had racked up more than 810,000 likes and 180,000 retweets. Such is the power of his words.

Here’s what admirers of the young sporting legend and MBE have had to say:

After the vandalised mural was enveloped in messages of love and support, Rashford’s team Manchester United tweeted a video of the scene, hailing their young star as an inspiration:

The portrait, based on a photograph by Daniel Cheetham and painted by street artist Akse, was created last November in collaboration with community street art project Withington Walls. It was reportedly commissioned in recognition of Rashford’s free school meals campaign.

His mother provided the quote on the mural, which reads: “Take pride in knowing that your struggle will play the biggest role in your purpose.”

It was defaced within hours of England’s loss to Italy, with the f-word scrawled across it.

Greater Manchester Police Chief Superintendent Paul Savill said: “This is disgraceful behaviour and will absolutely not be tolerated.

“Greater Manchester prides itself on being made up from a number of diverse communities, and hate crime in any form is completely unacceptable and not welcome here in our city.

“GMP takes crimes of this nature very seriously and an investigation has been launched.”

An online fundraiser set up to repair the mural and keep maintaining it raised more than £25,000 within a matter of hours.

A post on the Crowdfunder page reads: “The England team may have lost, but they have done us proud on and off the pitch. This team has shown us the nation we can be. They have proved that diversity is our strength.

“We are unsure how much it is going to cost at this stage to repair, but anything raised beyond what it costs will likely be spent on funding CCTV coverage, protective paint or further artworks in the village. Any funding raised beyond our needs will be donated to anti-racism and food bank projects.”

Rashford’s inspiring work continues...