Marcus Rashford has released a statement on Instagram after being contacted by a tabloid about a photo of him allegedly posing with a convicted murderer.
Rashford, 27, is currently being dropped from Manchester United's first-team squad by Ruben Amorim after admitting last month that he is ready to leave his boyhood club.
The England international was left out of United's squad for their clash with Southampton on Thursday evening, but just minutes before the team news was announced he took to social media to write a lengthy post addressing a separate issue about his personal life treated.
The statement on his Instagram Story read: “Today I was contacted by a tabloid stating that they plan to publish a photo of me with a rapper that was apparently taken over a year ago.
'I want to make it clear that I have never seen this photo, that I do not know this person and that I am not friends with him. If someone asks for a photo with me, like most footballers, I will never refuse, but I am obviously unable to conduct a background check on every individual who asks me for a photo.
'Can I please urge the tabloids that, rather than focusing on me, they use their platforms to raise awareness of the many charities and individuals who work every day in Britain to tackle knife crime and so on to prevent more families from suffering tragic losses.
“My deepest condolences go out to the family of Jimmy Mizen.”
The fact that Rashford mentions Mizen's name gives a strong indication that the United star is talking about a photo allegedly taken with Jake Fahri, a rapper who performs in a balaclava and goes by the stage name TEN.
Fahri was sentenced in 2009 to a minimum of 14 years in prison for the murder of 16-year-old schoolboy Mizen in May 2008.
He was recently released from prison and has made music promoted by the BBC.
However, after an investigation by The Sun revealed that the balaclava-clad rapper is Fahri, the BBC banned his music from their radio stations.
This isn't the first time Rashford has spoken out after being pictured with a controversial musician.
Rashford and his former United teammate Jesse Lingard were pictured with MC Wiley in January 2022, despite the British grime artist previously being banned from Facebook and Twitter over a series of anti-Semitic posts.
Rashford responded to the photo by writing on social media: 'This photo has been brought to my attention and I now understand that given the context it could easily be misinterpreted. I would like to emphasize that I do not and will not condone discriminatory language or behavior of any kind directed against the Jewish community or any other community.”
When asked by a United supporter to further explain why he had decided to pose with Wiley, Rashford added: “Hey Ben, I wasn't aware of the comments made when I was pulled into a photo opportunity. Comments that I absolutely condemn. My apologies for any inconvenience caused. We all happened to be in the same place at the same time.
“I really believe that tackling anti-Semitism inside and outside the game requires more attention and should be a big part of the game's anti-racist stance.”
Comments