Racists deface Rashford mural, and in response the city covers it with messages of affection

We all still have in mind the penalties of the 2020 European Football Championship final between Italy and England, with the decisive mistakes of Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka. The three English soccer players, unfortunately, were flooded with racist messages on social media in the hours following the match. Not only that, the racists went so far as to deface the mural dedicated to Marcus Rashford in the Manchester suburb of Withington, the footballer’s hometown of Manchester, who has always played for Manchester United.

The insulting writings against Rashford were covered up after a few hours by the authorities, but despite this, the citizens of Manchester and the footballer’s fans still wanted to show their support for him and covered the 23-year-old sportsman’s image with messages of support: messages such as “hero,” “role model,” “you are the best,” “thank you,” “we are proud of you,” letters about Rashford’s importance to the local community, English flags, hearts, and more.

Rashford shared pictures of the messages on his social channels saying he was “stunned” and “thankful.” The soccer player also posted some of the messages left on the mural. In one of them, a nine-year-old boy says “I hope you won’t be sad for long because you are a really good person. Last year you inspired me to help lucky people. Last night you inspired me again, to always be brave. I am proud of you, you will always be a hero.” Still another encourages him, “I’m writing to you because failing a shot can be annoying but it’s not the end of the world, keep thinking good thoughts: you might feel disappointed but don’t be. You are wonderful and don’t let a penalty infuriate you, you really are a kind and wonderful hero. You should be proud, you got to the final, you did your best and that is a lot, and that is enough.”

The hatred of racists, already widely stigmatized by everyone in recent days, has thus taken a new beating. Because love and appreciation are definitely stronger feelings.

Racists deface Rashford mural, and in response the city covers it with messages of affection

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.