Manchester United star Marcus Rashford responds to racist abuse: 'I'm proud to be black'

Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford refuses to be affected by internet trolls who threw racially-fueled abuse at him on social media. The abusive comments flooded in following United's 0-0 draw with Arsenal on Saturday evening.

The 23-year-old striker took to his Twitter account to speak up against those who have been hurling insults at his direction. He did not specifically mention what was said to him, claiming that he does not want to further expose his followers to such negativity.

"I'm not sharing screenshots. It would be irresponsible to do so and as you can imagine there's nothing original in them. I have beautiful children of all colours following me and they don't need to read it. Beautiful colours that should only be celebrated," he said.

Before that, he also tweeted that while he is being put down because of his skin colour, he is in fact very proud to be a Black man.

"Humanity and social media at its worst. Yes I'm a black man and I live every day proud that I am. No one, or no one comment, is going to make me feel any different. So sorry if you were looking for a strong reaction, you're just simply not going to get it here," he said.

Unfortunately, despite FIFA and UEFA's constant efforts against racism, the problem is still rampant throughout the sport. Aside from Rashford, fellow Manchester United players Anthony Martial and Axel Tuanzebe also experienced racist abuse in recent months. Players from other nationalities in other leagues are also constantly being targeted.

Manchester United issued a statement condemning the abuse which took place after their loss against Sheffield last week. "Everyone at Manchester United is disgusted by the racial abuse received by players via social media after last night's game. We utterly condemn it and it is encouraging to see other fans condemn this on social media also," it read.

The club admits that identifying the abusers remains problematic and they are urging the social media platforms to take action.

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said, "It's just incredible we have these scenes still, this abuse in 2021.