‘You will always be a hero’: Child’s heartbreaking letter to Marcus Rashford
A six-year-old tells striker to ignore ‘nasty bullys’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The England footballer Marcus Rashford has received heartwarming letters of support from young fans after his penalty miss in the Euro 2020 final, with one boy telling him he “will always be a hero”.
The 23-year-old striker tweeted some of the letters as he thanked fans for their backing in the face of online racist abuse after England’s loss.
“I hope you won’t be sad for too long because you are such a good person,” wrote Dexter Rosier, 9.
“Last year you inspired me to help people less fortunate. Then last night you inspired me again, to always be brave.
“I’m proud of you, you will always be a hero.”
Children also wrote to praise Rashford him for his courage and for his free-school-meal campaigning, which led to several government U-turns on child food poverty.
Another fan, a six-year-old from Newcastle, sent Rashford his love and wrote: “Don’t listen to nasty bullys.”
“I have sent you my (trophy) to cheer you up,” he added.
Rashford and teammates Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho were racially abused on social media, after they failed to score their spot-kicks in the penalty shoot-out against Italy on Sunday.
Within hours of the defeat, a mural of Rashford was defaced in his home town of Manchester, with police treating it as a racist incident.
In response, the local community and fans from further afield flocked to the vandalised artwork in Withington to express their solidarity with Rashford.
They covered the wall with drawings and words including “role model” and “wonderful human”, and the artist Akse P19 repainted his artwork of the footballer.
On Tuesday night, Rashford posted that he was “overwhelmed” and “lost for words” amid the outpouring of solidarity.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments