Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho take a private jet to green-list Turks and Caicos after both spoke out over the vile racist abuse they received after their England Euro final penalty misses
- Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho are on holiday after both missing penalties in England’s Euro final defeat
- Rashford and Sancho spoke out on racist abuse after both being abused online, along with Bukayo Saka
- Today, police chiefs have revealed dozens of people are being investigated for racist tweets to England stars
- Turks and Caicos, they are holidaying, is on the green list and therefore they can return without quarantine
- Sancho is set to be announced as a new £73m signing at Man United, to become Rashford’s club team-mate
Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho have jetted out on holiday together as the duo look to rest and recharge following the sickening racist abuse directed at them.
The two forwards are set to become team-mates together at Manchester United, after Sancho underwent his medical at Carrington ahead of completing his £73million move from Borussia Dortmund.
They are also close friends, and will now spend their time away after England’s Euro 2020 final heartbreak – and before returning to training – living the high life in Turks and Caicos.
They have flown to Providenciales, a picturesque island in the Atlantic Ocean, which is on the UK Government’s green list and will provide the Three Lions stars with the perfect backdrop while they soak up the sun during their getaway.
Today, police chiefs have revealed dozens of people are being investigated for racist tweets about England’s Euro 2020 stars, with four arrested so far.
The UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) provided an update on its investigation following abusive posts targeting Rashford, Sancho and Bukayo Saka in the wake of the Three Lions’ defeat on penalties to Italy in Sunday’s final.
Three of the suspects have already been publicly identified – plasterer Brad Pretty, 49, from Folkestone, Kent; estate agent Andrew Bone, 37, from Sale, Cheshire; and children’s football coach Nick Scott, 50, from Powick, Worcestershire.
MailOnline revealed Bone was once married to the ‘Lotto Gran’ who famously tried to claim a £33million jackpot by saying she’d put her winning ticket in the washing machine.
A fourth suspect, a 37-year-old man from Ashton-upon-Mersey in Greater Manchester, was then arrested yesterday, officials said.
The data suggests the number of tweets being investigated for racism is a very small fraction of the hundreds of thousands of tweets which were published about the match in total on Sunday night.
Rashford and Sancho were filmed by music artist Chibz boarding a private jet, and looked in high spirits while rapping away inside the jaw-droppingly sleek cabin.
Marcus Rashford (left) and Jadon Sancho (right) have jetted off on a lavish holiday together to the Turks and Caicos islands
The duo, who are set to become Manchester United team-mates – as well as with England – took a private jet together
Their break comes after days of fall-out following the abuse both players, and fellow shoot-out fall-guy Saka, received online in the immediate aftermath of the Euro 2020 final.
Rashford opened up on the agony of missing his spot-kick, having been brought on in the final minute of extra-time to step up from 12 yards. His effort clipped the outside of the post, however, before Sancho and Bukayo Saka also failed to convert.
All three youngsters suffered the disgusting taunts online, and a mural of Rashford in Greater Manchester was even defaced. Locals have since covered up the graffiti with messages of support for the striker, though.
Twitter said it had removed more than 1,000 posts in the 24 hours during and after the match, and suspended a number of accounts for violating its rules. Facebook said it too had quickly removed abusive comments on its platform and Instagram.
Data from analytics company Crisp, which works with top-flight football clubs, found England players faced 12,500 hate messages on social media during Euro 2020.
The abuse from 10,000 accounts was aimed directly at players, through Twitter and Instagram, and includes comments about race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, as well as extreme personal abuse and threats of harm, including to family members.
In a statement on Twitter on Monday, Rashford, 23, said: ‘I don’t even know how to put into words how I’m feeling at this exact time. I’ve had a difficult season and I probably went into that final with a lack of confidence.
‘I’ve always backed myself for a penalty but something didn’t feel quite right.
Rashford (left) and Sancho have both spoken out about the racist abuse that saw the striker’s Manchester mural vandalised
‘During the long run-up I was saving myself a bit of time and unfortunately the result was not what I wanted. I felt as though I had let my team-mates down.
‘A penalty was all I’d been asked to contribute for the team. I can score penalties in my sleep so why not that one?
‘It’s been playing over in my head – there’s probably not a word to describe how it feels. Final. Fifty-five years. One penalty. History. All I can say is sorry. I wish it had gone differently.
‘Whilst I continue to say sorry, I want to shout out my team-mates. A brotherhood has been built and that is unbreakable.
England manager Gareth Southgate brought Sancho and Rashford on to take penalties against Italy – but both stars missed
‘Your success is my success. Your failures are mine.’
On the abuse he received, he added: ‘I’ve grown into a sport where I expect to read things written about myself. Whether it be the colour of my skin, where I grew up or, most recently, how I decide to spend my time off the pitch.
‘I can take critique of my performance all day long, my penalty was not good enough. But I will never apologise for who I am and where I came from.
‘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.
‘The messages I’ve 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-year-old black man from Withington and Wythenshawe, south Manchester. If I have nothing else I have that.
‘For all the kind messages, thank you. I’ll be back stronger. We’ll be back stronger.’
Sancho, meanwhile, issued his own heartfelt message and insisted ‘we need to do better as a society’, as he spoke out for the first time after abuse was sent to he and his ‘brothers’ Rashford and Saka.
Writing on Instagram, he said: ‘I’ve had a couple of days to reflect on Sunday’s final and still feel a mix of emotions. I would like to say sorry to all my team-mates, coaching staff and most of all the fans who I let down.
‘This is by far the worst feeling I’ve felt in my career. It’s hard to even put into words the real feeling, but there were so many positives to take away from this tournament though the defeat will hurt for a long time.
‘My first thought before going into any football match is always, “How can I help my team?, how am I going to assist? how am I going to score? how am I going to create chances?”
Racists bombarded Bukayo Saka, Rashford and Sancho with abhorrent abuse on Instagram and other platforms
‘And that’s exactly what I wanted to do with that penalty, help the team. I was ready and confident to take it, these are the moments you dream of as a kid, it is why I play football. These are the pressured situations you want to be under as a footballer.
‘I’ve scored penalties before at club level, I’ve practised them countless times for both club and country so I picked my corner but it just wasn’t meant to be this time.’
It continued: ‘I’m not going pretend that I didn’t see the racial abuse that me and my brothers Marcus and Bukayo received after the game, but sadly it’s nothing new. As a society we need to do better, and hold these people accountable.
‘Hate will never win. To all the young people who have received similar abuse, hold your heads up high and keep chasing the dream.
‘I am proud of this England team and how we have united the whole nation in what has been a difficult 18 months for so many people. Much as we wanted to win the tournament, we will build and learn from this experience going forward.’
Today, a statement from the UK Football Policing Unit read: ‘Following England’s defeat against Italy on Sunday a torrent of racist comments aimed at some of the team’s black players appeared on platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
‘A hate crime investigation is under way by the UKFPU, with a dedicated team of investigators working their way through a large number of reports from across the country.
‘So far, dozens of data applications have been submitted to social media companies and four people have been arrested by local police forces.’
Chief Constable Mark Roberts, the National Police Chiefs’ Council football policing lead, said: ‘The racial abuse aimed at our own players following Sunday night’s game is utterly vile and has quite rightly shocked and appalled people across the country.
‘Our England team have been true role models during the tournament, conducting themselves with professionalism and dignity.
‘I’m disgusted there are individuals out there who think it’s acceptable to direct such abhorrent abuse at them, or at anybody else.
‘The UKFPU investigation is well under way and work continues to identify those responsible. We are working very closely with social media platforms, who are providing data we need to progress enquiries.
‘If we identify that you are behind this crime, we will track you down and you will face the serious consequences of your shameful actions.’
Jadon Sancho’s statement in full
I’ve had a couple of days to reflect on Sunday’s final and still feel a mix of emotions. I would like to say sorry to all my teammates, coaching staff and most of all the fans who I let down.
This is by far the worst feeling I’ve felt in my career. It’s hard to even put into words the real feeling, but there were so many positives to take away from this tournament though the defeat will hurt for a long time. My first thought before going into any football match is always “How can I help my team?, how am I going to assist? how am I going to score? how am I going to create chances?”
And that’s exactly what I wanted to do with that penalty, help the team. I was ready and confident to take it, these are the moments you dream of as a kid, it is why I play football. These are the pressured situations you want to be under as a footballer. I’ve scored penalties before at club level, I’ve practiced them countless times for both club and country so I picked my corner but it just wasn’t meant to be this time.
We all had the same ambitions and objectives. We wanted to bring the trophy home.
This has been one of the most enjoyable camps I’ve been part of in my career so far, the togetherness of the team has been unmatched, a real family on and off the pitch.
I’m not going pretend that I didn’t see the racial abuse that me and my brothers Marcus and Bukayo received after the game, but sadly it’s nothing new. As a society we need to do better, and hold these people accountable.
Hate will never win. To all the young people who have received similar abuse, hold your heads up high and keep chasing the dream. I am proud of this England team and how we have united the whole nation in what has been a difficult 18 months for so many people.
Much as we wanted to win the tournament, we will build and learn from this experience going forward. I want to say a massive thank you for all the positive messages and love and support that far outweighed the negative.
It’s been an honour as always representing England and wearing the Three Lions shirt, and I have no doubt we’ll be back even stronger! Stay safe & see you soon.
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