Manchester’s response to the Rashford mural being vandalised proves hate will never win here

Last night, hundreds of Mancunians gathered at the mural of Marcus Rashford to not only show their support for the footballer and the Black Lives Matter movement, but to demonstrate that here in Manchester, hate will never win.

While Manchester has always been known for its abundance of diversity and warm inclusivity, these last couple of days have really put the city’s spirit to the test – and boy have you all delivered.

It started on Sunday night in the moments following England’s defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 final. The nation was devastated by the loss – this was England’s first major tournament final since 1966 so, of course, hopes had been high for the squad to finally bring it home.

However, while many fans merely expressed their disappointment, applauded the team for their efforts and turned in for an early night to sleep away the pain of losing to Italy, a small but loud minority began instantly directing vile racist slurs towards the three black footballers who had missed their penalty – Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho. 

The racist onslaught was nothing short of sickening and, ever since, the three footballers have been flooded with messages of support and solidarity from true England fans all across the country.

Countless children also penned heartfelt messages to Rashford – nine-year-old Dexter Rosier told the footballer to not be sad ‘for too long’ because ‘you are such a good person.’ His letter reads: “Last year you inspired me to help people less fortunate. Then last night [Sunday], you inspired me again to always be brave. I’m proud of you, you will always be a hero.”

Another letter penned by eleven-year-old Alfie informed Rashford that he’s proud of him and the rest of squad. He wrote: “Coming second may not sound great but it’s amazing [sic] you and your team mates should be proud of yourselves… you are the first squad to reach a major final in over 55 years.”

Alfie went on to inform Rashford that, while the world has ‘been paused’ for the last eighteen months, he has been the one to ‘keep us going’ and, while many people have waited a long time to see ‘the beautiful game’, Rashford has been ‘the star of the show.’

Perhaps most poignantly though, the Marcus Rashford mural in Withington was also vandalised in the wake of England’s loss, with hateful slurs being scrawled across the stunning artwork. A social media user alerted the rest of Manchester to the vandalism on Monday morning, sharing photos on Twitter and writing: “Someone vandalised Marcus Rashford’s mural last night. Do you know how sick in the head do you have to be to do that? This is a f*****g disgrace.”

The morning after the mural was vandalised, however, Manchester did its thing. 

Withington locals began gradually emerging from their homes and, throughout the day, worked together to cover up the hateful graffiti with their own hand-written messages and notes of love and support. People left flowers, photographs and letters addressed the Rashford, Saka and Sancho by the mural, with other residents even covering the graffiti with black card and hand made love hearts.

On Tuesday morning, Akse, the street artist who’d painted the mural in November last year, returned to his work to remove the vile graffiti completely. 

Yet the handwritten messages and gestures remained, and they continued to grow throughout the day. 

And at 5:30pm, hundreds more people – both Mancunians and those who had travelled from other cities – gathered at the mural to take part in a vigil to stand up against racism. The atmosphere was electric; people from all walks of life had gathered in unity to take a stand against the treatment of not only our footballers, but the people of colour being terrorised right here in our country. 

Nahella Ashraf of Manchester Stand Up To Racism, which organised the demonstration, told the crowd: “Three Black footballers have been viciously racially attacked on social media, but let’s be very honest – are we surprised? When the football team began taking the knee in solidarity, and against racism, they were booed, and what did Boris Johnson say? Not much. What did Priti Patel say? It’s an absolute disgrace.”

Protester Lamin Touray also told the crowd: “We know the powers that be want this to go away, and the attack on Sancho and Rashford and Saka has ignited the anti-racist movement in this country and in this beautifully diverse city… Those players have shown us everything that is good about this country, Black and white united against racism, taking a strong stance.”

At 6pm, the crowd then collectively took the knee – a symbolic action taken by sportsmen to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement and the fight against systematic racism. As people knelt with their fists raised in the air, Nahella told the crowd:”We’re going to take the knee like the footballers do before every match.

“We’re going to take the knee to remember all those who have lost their lives at the hands of racists. We’re going to take the knee for all those who live with racism day in, day out. We take the knee to show a sign of resistance. Today we’re here, black and white together, standing in solidarity and showing that we will not be defeated, we will not be silenced, we will not be pushed off the street.

“Never apologise for being black and proud.”

Manchester, you’ve done the entire country proud.

Greater Manchester Police continue to appeal for any information on the culprits responsible for vandalising the Marcus Rashford mural in Withington – anyone with information can contact the police on 0161 856 4973, quoting 453 of 12/07/2021.

You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.