The English striker said he was "speechless"
The protesters who participated in their numbers in a mural by Marcus Rashford knelt in a show of support for the Manchester United player.
The mural was defaced after Rashford missed a penalty for England in their penalty shootout loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday, with the 23-year-old suffering a torrent of racist abuse on his social media accounts along with Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka.
On Tuesday, a vigil was held on the mural in Withington, South Manchester, as hundreds stood in solidarity with Rashford.
The abuse that had been painted on the artwork was initially covered with messages of love and support for Rashford, in a spontaneous show of unity for the hard-working player off the court in recent years.
After seeing pictures of the demonstration and messages of support and thanks posted on the wall, the forward tweeted: "Overwhelmed. Grateful. Lost for words."
Overwhelmed. Grateful. Lost for words โฅ ๏ธ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ pic.twitter.com/PXC5H2GDtB
- Marcus Rashford MBE (arMarcusRashford) July 13, 2021
In a powerful moment, the hundreds of protesters knelt in solidarity with Rashford.
Hundreds of people gathered in front of Marcus Rashford's mural for a peaceful demonstration against racism.
Community members addressed the crowd of 700, as people knelt in solidarity. https://t.co/dCVKXHFOGt pic.twitter.com/mCg9B6tbUo
- BBC Northwest (@BBCNWT) July 13, 2021
The mural now has has been repaired by its creator, with the remaining messages of support for all to see.
In the meantime, as you can see in the bottom right image shared by Rashford, a note from Reggie says, "Thanks for all of our dinner."
- Marcus Rashford MBE (arMarcusRashford) July 13, 2021
During the pandemic, Manchester United Player launched a campaign to feed children across the UK. As an ambassador for FareShare, Rashford's name and contribution generated donations estimated at ยฃ 20 million. This earned him a spot on the Sunday Times Giving List, an honorary doctorate, and an MBE from The Queen.
His continued efforts to fight child poverty in the UK have earned him the respect of the nation. However, when he missed on penalties on Sunday, Rashford and several other players were victims of racial abuse online. Less than an hour after the game ended, his mural had been disfigured.
The mural often says, "Take pride in knowing that your struggle will play the most important role in your purpose."
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/KTRVFQZFJFENRD3CRVMIE4IDJQ.jpg?w=75&resize=75,75&ssl=1 "8 dead, dozens missing in Germany floods; 2 die in Belgium")
