Marcus Rashford has announced his intention to leave Manchester United, saying:
I think I’m ready for a new challenge and the next steps.
Nothing is confirmed yet, with Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim insisting that the club is “better with Marcus Rashford.” But, there’s one thing most football media outlets are missing here.
Marcus Rashford calls out the ‘tone’
Rashford made his comments to journalist Henry Water, who also reported:
Some balance is required in the current Rashford debate. I was shown some of the DMs he receives on a regular basis and they are utterly despicable.
Rashford’s performance on the field has come in for criticism from fans and pundits alike. But, let’s not beat around the bush. Even if there is a nugget of truth to that criticism, it comes swathed in the kind of insidious racism which is difficult for white people to detect, but no less keenly felt. Earlier this year, Rashford alluded to a “tone” in how he’s talked about:
It can’t just be about me as a 26-year-old lad on a night out, or a lad getting a parking ticket. It’s got to be about how much my car costs, guessing my weekly salary, my jewellery or even my tattoos.
It’s got to be about my body language and questioning my morals and speculating about my family and my football future. There’s a tone in it that you don’t get with all footballers. Let’s just leave it at that.
This is the same footballer who spent lockdown using his status to push the government to feed hungry children, donating his own money and resources to stop child poverty, and called out drastic cuts to Universal Credit.
What’s there to get so mad about? A footballer spending money on cars and tattoos? Using his influence to make sure kids get fed?
Rashford is hardly the first footballer to be criticised for sub-par performances, but he is part of a select group of young Black men who are hounded for every move they make by a racist media.
Pattern of racism
Rashford isn’t alone in noticing that his every decision is scrutinised.
Raheem Sterling, Jude Bellingham, Tyrone Mings, Bukayo Saka, and Jadon Sancho, to name a few, have all faced horrific racist abuse. Yes, they’re all millionaires – but who’s running around taking Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, or Jordan Pickford to task for also being millionaires?
The current men’s England team have made a concerted effort to be more socially conscious, but you cannot deny that it’s England’s Black players whose money, fame, political choices, and more face scrutiny with more than a racist tinge.
There’s a lot to be said about how bloated football has become, more an entertainment business built around revenue rather than a game alone. But it’s the singling out of players like Rashford which expose the harsh double standards that cement the racist abuse he faces from his own club’s fans.
Backlash
While sharing Rashford’s comments about “a new challenge,” Winter also explained what Rashford was up to on his day off:
Marcus Rashford had a day off today so he returned to his old primary school, Button Lane, south Manchester, and handed out 420 Christmas presents to all the pupils. It was a long-planned event, eliciting delight from the children. One boy scarcely more than four years old, had a special message for the Manchester United striker. “Thank you for the food as well, Marcus.”
Winter continued:
One of the Button Lane teachers said that Rashford’s present will be the only one some of the 420 kids receive this Christmas.
Cue the racist scrutiny we referred to above. One poster criticised Rashford for the ‘PR move’ of… err… making sure kids don’t go hungry like he did as a child.
Rashford giving presents to his old school was couched as the moves of a “politician”:
Rashford: "I love my club"
Utd fans: "LEAVE MY CLUB, YOU ARE SHIT"
Rash: "okay, I'll leave"
United fans: " OMG HE IS TRYING TO CONTROL THE NARRATIVE. POLITICIAN"
You people have demons residing inside you. 🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/9elsicDUxr
— Nobody (@dharnyyoung) December 17, 2024
The breathless thinkpieces on Rashford’s motivations are flooding in:
I beg you guys put 'Marcus Rashford' into their search bar, they've dropped NINE different articles on him in the last 8 days. This is not normal https://t.co/z6y6C8fQqb
— G (@Gideoomatic) December 18, 2024
One hit piece after another. Marcus Rashford will not win against the UK press. We all know why. https://t.co/knys5kh2Bs
— Kaustubh Pandey (@Kaus_Pandey17) December 18, 2024
Marcus Rashford: business as usual
There will be plenty of people who think Rashford deserves criticism from pundits and fans – for his attitude, for his lack of goals, for his performance on the pitch.
But, those same people are too willing to overlook the fact that he’s a young Black player who’s been with Manchester United since he was a child, who does what he can for his community, who speaks out about racism.
Putting all those things together, you cannot deny that however legitimate the footballing criticism might be, Marcus Rashford is too Black, too outspoken on race, and too steadfast in his political opinions for a racist media eagerly waiting to rip into anything he does.
Featured image via YouTube screenshot/Players’ Tribune Football
